The Sting of Fate
by jasminedragonemployee
Summary: They had been best friends since the beginning. Nayli had been with them through it all; the cold nights sleeping in the streets, getting money for food and clothing, and just being there. It hurt them when she left, more so Mako than his brother, but he had reasons. So after 4 years of absence and a reunion, feelings surfaced that she never even thought of, nor did they. Bolin/OC.
1. Chapter 1: Again

_"Just close your eyes  
The sun is going down  
You'll be alright  
No one can hurt you now  
Come morning light  
You and I'll be safe and sound.__"_

* * *

The sun dipped in to the ocean, a harmony of oranges and pinks entangled with one another in the sky. Nayli loved sundown, all because the beauty of the universe could be seen in one perfect moment as the assortment of colors painted themselves across the broad horizon. From where her and her sister, Yuri slept, she had the perfect view of Yue Bay and the beautiful moon and shiny stars. It was the only thing she could look forward to when night rolled around.

The girl smiled - a faint, bereft smile - but a smile nonetheless. She was alive, even though having so much responsibility on her shoulders could get exhausting and make a person feel like the living dead. A ten-year-old sister to care for was hard enough, but her little sibling had a found a little puma cat named Margo she had taken a liking to. Not to mention the three jobs she worked around the clock trying to scrape up enough money to buy some decent clothes for her little sister, or worrying about a place to stay, or where their next meal would come from. But she had done it for _so long_ without their parents, so she was getting used to the worrying, and her stomach growling when they had no money so her sister ate all the food - but she was more important -, and just her stomach growling in general. She was used to wearing rags around town while she bought her sister expensive dresses and shoes, including one for 200 yuans just for her twelfth birthday this year.

But it wasn't about Nayli anymore. She had an innocent little girl to protect from the world; a promise to keep. A promise to her mother and father that she would always protect Yuri with everything she had. If they were around or not.

Her little sister stirred in her slumber with a whimper, cowering into Nayli's lap and pulling her knees to her chest. "I'm cold," she whispered, silently begging her sister for comfort.

"Then heat yourself up. It's just another perk of firebending," Nayli replied a with a lazy wave of her hand, dismissing the comment. She stroked Yuri's auburn locks, which resembled their mother's. The ringlets were tousled from her tossing and turning.

Nayli still couldn't believe how much her little sister looked like their late mother; the same icy blue eyes, ivory skin, and fine, curly hair. She, on the other hand, inherited her father's thick, black hair and hazel irises, along with his pale skin tone. It was funny to her, with the family being divided up by looks like that.

But even though Nayli had stayed up all night, patrolling the alley for signs of danger that could harm her family - the only family she had left, and her eyes were crossed from such a deep state of exhaustion, she could see that the similarities were uncanny.

"Nay," Yuri started, jolting the elder sister from her thoughts. She then crawled into the older girl's lap and tugged at Nayli's tunic. "I'm scared. I don't like doing this anymore, sissy."

Nayli glanced at Margo sleeping on the only edge of the blanket not resting on the girls. She lifted the kitten up and placed her in Yuri's lap as the feline fidgeted in protest.

"I'm here, and I won't let anything bad happen to you." She pet the kitten's black fur. "So is Margo. Right kitty?"

Suddenly, Margo perked her head up and hissed at the darkness of the alleyway, cowering against the brick wall.

"What is it, Margo? Do you see something?" Yuri asked, scanning the darkness.

A man about the age of thirty stumbled out of the shadows, clearly intoxicated, also not noticing the girls yet. Two more men followed suit and were cackling to themselves in a fit of happiness only drinking could induce.

"Yuri, I want you to get Margo and run to the station. Stay with Skoochy and his friends until I get there," Nayli ordered, shoving Margo and the bag of their clothes into Yuri's arms.

"But-"

"Go! I don't want you in the middle of this."

Yuri hugged Margo tighter to her chest and threw the knapsack over her shoulder. "Okay. But please hurry, Lala. I don't wanna lose you, too." She ran down the alley and disappeared around the corner.

_Why does that girl call me that?_ Nayli thought with a frustrated huff.

"Ay! Little girls shouldn't be runnin' round town at night," one of the men suddenly yelled, his words were slurred and he walked closer to her.

"Yeah, bad things might happen. Especially with a pretty little thang like you," another man taunted, which was followed by hiccup.

Nayli inhaled the smoke-saturated air caused by the satomobiles rambling back and forth on the streets even at the late hour. Her heart was beating so loud she could hear the rhythm in her ears and feel the drumming on her throat.

She knew the outcome of this situation.

Nayli stumbled back and felt the earth rumble and shift around. Her feet were suddenly knocked from under her and she landed harshly on her back, heaving for the air that had escaped her lungs.

"So boys, do ya think she's a bender?" the guy dressed in fancy, gold jewelry commented.

The tallest of the men stalked over to her figure sprawled along the wet pavement, ignoring his friend's question. "Oh, that was rude 'a me, wasn't it? I'm sorry, suga."

"We should help 'er up, boss," another man suggested.

Tall Man lifted Nayli up by her arms and slammed her into the brick wall of a small building residing beside the alley. Her vision swam and she hissed as her head collided with the wall again. He clicked his tongue in distaste. "Street rats like you are what I love about this city. Such easy prey." He plucked a knife from his back pocket and swayed it, the metal glinting in the light of the moon.

"No!" she cried, kneeing him sharply in the stomach; the knife fell from his hand with a clatter.

"You little bitch!" he hissed from on the ground, jerking his hand towards his body. Nayli was lurched forward onto her knees as a thick column of earth shot out from the wall. She scrambled to her feet and before she could run, her tunic was caught and one of the men yanked her back, pressing her against his chest. He folded her arms behind her back and she felt two lanky fingers pressing against her jaw.

"Move. I fuckin' dare you," the man said sharply, warning her with a jab of his fingers against her neck. "We just wanna have some fun, baby."

"Fuck you," Nayli spat, her peripheral catching a puddle of mud near them. _Perfect! Now if I can just move my hands a little bit..._

Using her bending, she erected a stream of water and, turning on the ball of her foot after jabbing him in the gut, lodged an ice dagger deep in the man's eye, causing blood to spew from the wound. He fell to the ground in a clumsy heap, dead. Nayli flicked her wrists in front of her and the water smoothly rose, ready to bend at her command.

The remaining men, frightened, launched themselves at her with a strangled cry, knives in hand. She ducked at Short Man's attack as he tried to slice her stomach with the knife, and rolled backwards onto her knees, shooting a hand out in front of her in an arc. The man dropped to his knees and a red substance oozed from the deep gash across his neck, staining his expensive jacket. A look of sorrow flickered in his eyes as he sputtered on the blood dripping from his mouth, choking on silent words that were trying to escape. Nayli wiped her brow of the sweat beading there, and she turned to the last man.

"If you don't wanna end up like your friends, I suggest you give me all the money in your pockets. Think of it as a debt for what you and your friends just tried to do to me." Nayli held out her hand in waiting as the man searched his pockets, finding three-thousand yuans and handing it to her. "And your buddies, too, scum!"

After the fact, she was now 5, 249 yuans richer, and had a beautiful blue jacket for her sister - Yuri liked blue. Actually, killing those monsters didn't bother her at all, because all they were good for was causing terror; like they had a right to vilify her when she was living a life she was forced in to. Of course, she did whatever she had to do to survive, for her sister's sake. Even if that meant robbing a man and two dead bodies - she had personally killed - of money to get food on the table.

Maybe she was a monster, too...

"And that's how it's done, ladies and gentlemen!" a voice cheered from behind her as she threw the new jacket over her shoulder.

Nayli rolled her eyes in irritation and turned on the heel of her foot. "Seriously, Yong? You were standing there this whole time? Why the hell didn't you help me!"

Yong waltzed toward Nayli and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Cut me some slack, Nay. I'm the leader of the triads and you're a member. I had to make sure you still kick ass... which you do."

The two waterbenders smirked at each other and shared a smug glance.

"I know why you're here, Yong, and I refuse to have anything to do with gangs anymore. It's too risky," Nayli explained as the two walked to Yong's satomobile.

The man sighed and opened her car door. "At least let me drive you somewhere safe."

"My sister's at the station. Don't worry about it since it's only ten blocks," the girl shrugged and started to limp along the sidewalk when a hand caught her arm, catching her off guard and making her trip backwards. During the attack, when she had attempted to run away the first time, she _conveniently _twisted her ankle in the process and now she could barely walk.

"Get in the damn car and let me do something for_ you_ for once."

* * *

"Yongy!" Yuri called to Yong as he and Nayli approached Fire Lord Zuko's statue where she was resting with Skoochy.

"Hey, Ri," he laughed as the girl glomped his waist. "You've grown so much since the last time I saw you."

The waterbender was watching the scene with a relieved sigh - since Yuri didn't notice the bruises covering her, her limp, and her bloody clothes - between her best friend and her sister unfold when Skoochy approached.

"Hey, babe," He wrapped a small arm around her waist. "How about you, me, a couple of snowcones, and a good time tomorrow."

"Listen, Skooch. I'm flattered, but I think you're too young for me."

"Well then, we can wait, my love!"

"Ha-ha... no." She stalked away from the bothersome child.

"Way to tug at my heartstrings, baby!" he called from behind her. "But you'll be back! They always come back!"

"I've had enough of men for tonight," she retorted quietly, stalking over to the knapsack and emptying it's contents on to the ground, along with their new, warm jacket.

As Nayli set up a bed for her sister, Skoochy appeared beside her.

"Maybe a date might cheer you up," he said, leaning all-too seductively against the previous Fire Lord's statue. "I know how much you like the Fire Ferrets. Well, I have connections, so I could get you in to see 'em play tomorrow for the championship.

Nayli paused from her bed-making to stare at the boy. "Fire Ferrets? You know them?"

Skoochy grinned widely. "All my life. Why?"

She ignored his question, as she didn't want to explain anything to him. "... Okay. I'll take you up on your little offer. But _only_ if you get your part of the deal done first."

Skoochy grabbed Nayli's hand and winked. "Anything for you, babe."

* * *

_"... Ready or not, here I come!" Nayli called to her newly found friends - wherever they were. They were two little boys - brothers, actually - close to her age who lost their parents, too. _

_But it was the older brother who she could side with most. They both had little siblings to take care of, and feed, and clothe. They both had done things to get by that they weren't proud of. And he was nine years old, and she was only seven - but her mommy and daddy were ten years apart, so it didn't matter._

_I guess you could say that she liked him. Like liked him. Wait, what was that called? A.. crush? Yeah. She had a crush.  
_

_She galloped through the streets, on a mission to find them hidden somewhere in that crazy town. The little girl snickered when she saw a flash of dark hair duck behind a dumpster in an alleyway, then saw a shadow creep it's way against the ground. Nayli ambled her way toward the dumpster, careful not to let him know she was gonna catch him.  
_

_"I wonder where those boys could poss-ib-ly be," Nayli called loud enough for the boy behind the dumpster to hear, trying to trick him into thinking she_ actually _didn't know where they were_. _Unfortunately,_ _h__er acting skills were atrocious, and Mako instantly knew that she was coming for him.  
_

Stupid girls and their stupid games, _he thought_. We should be worrying about where to sleep tonight instead of-

_"Aha! Gotcha Ma-ko!" The boy turned around to see an excited Nayli peeking around the corner of the dumpster. _

_"Why are we even playing these stupid games, anyways?" Mako asked as she helped him up off the ground.  
_

_"Becauseeeee," Nayli explained as her words were being drawn out, as if she was making sure to pronounce every syllable correctly. "Just because we have this big respo - repons - resonp- how do you say that word?"  
_

_"Respon-si-bil-ity?"  
_

_"Yeah! That word! Just because we have that doesn't mean we can't have fuuuun! 'Sides, Bolin needs to have fun. He's just a kid."  
_

_Mako raised an eyebrow. "But I thought you were the same age!"  
_

_"We are! But he has you taking care of him, and I don't have anyone. So I had to grow up faster than kids my age," she said with a frown, lowering her head.  
_

_"Oh.. Me too."  
_

_"We could be perfect together, ya know that?"  
_

_The young boy stared at his new friend and a blush dusted his pale cheeks. "Really?"_

_"Yeah!" Nayli exclaimed, wrapping a cold hand around his fairly warm one.  
_

_"Let's go get my brother and your sister, and then we can warm up. You're really cold."  
_

_"I like you. Like like you."  
_

_"What?"  
_

_"I didn't say anything! You must have heard a g-g-g-ghost!"  
_

_"That's not funny!"  
_

_"You're cute when you're scared."  
_

_"..."  
_

* * *

"Okay, so, _how_ did you get us this amazing view?" Nayli asked Skoochy wearily as she peered lover the balcony to the waters below.

The ambiance of the arena was filled with such excitement and joy, with the crowds of people cheering for their favorite teams and all the families coming together. It felt like the place was practically jumping.

"I told you," Skoochy clicked his tongue and put a finger to his chest. "I got connections."

"Yeah, of course you do."

"So-"

"I can't believe how everything's changed."

"Yeah, that's great, but-"

"I mean, the last time I was here was when my dad played on his team. And that was a good twelve years ago."

"Nay!" The irritated boy shook her boy the shoulders. "Do you wanna meet the Fire Ferrets or not?"

Nayli pinned his arms by his sides and a horrified expression powdered her features. "Right now? No! I- I promised Yuri that when I met them for the first time she was gonna come with me to get an autograph from Bolin."

Skoochy slapped his forehead against a nearby wall and sighed. "Yuri is on the lower stands with Yong. Do you listen, woman?"

"Nope," Nayli said with a cheeky grin and ruffled the boy's hair under his hat."

"That's what I love about you... " Awkward silence. "So, how about that make out you promised me?"

"_**SKOOCHY****!**_"

* * *

He had played his cards well. Soon enough, she would be all over him. It was that thought that made the sting on his left cheek lessen with intensity.

Yes, Nayli had slapped him, but he _did _kiss her, and it was the best kiss she'd ever have! But hey, if you want someone, let them know. At least, that's what Bolin had told him many times.

Maybe Skoochy shouldn't have been _so_ forward...

* * *

"Ugh, that kid, I swear. He boils my blood!" Nayli growled, pacing through a stretch of hallway that accessed the upper stands over-looking the ring.

Yong, climbing up from his spot on the floor, walked over to her with said-blood boiler strutting beside him.

"Did you have to smack him, though? That was harsh," Yong complained as he pinched the bridge of his nose in disapproval.

"He's like, ten! I could be charged with sexual harassment if anyone saw that!" Nayli shrieked.

"Skooch, are you bothering an innocent girl, _again_?" a voice asked from behind her as she paced the other direction.

"Oh, Mako! I'd like you to meet my ladyyyy," Skoochy said, intent on bringing the word "lady" to his attention.

Nayli paused and gasped, _Wait! Hold the fuck up! Mako? As in "childhood bestfriend/crush/obsession/shenanigan fixer/adorable older brother" Mako? No! There's no way. I haven't seen him since we went our separate ways about four years back._

"Nay?" Mako whispered, furrowing his eyebrows as he stepped towards her.

"Long time no see, huh?" she retorted playfully, grinning at him.

"Uh... yeah, yeah."

* * *

Mako had led Nayli and Yuri in to the locker room where Bolin was to have a more private conversation where the crowds of people walking by couldn't hear.

"So, how's life?" he asked, throwing on his equipment. He didn't even look at her.

For some reason he seemed way too... stoic. Nay understood how much pressure he was under, given this was the damn _championship_, but she figured he would be more excited to see her. Since they used to be _inseparable_ when they were younger. Of course, things were different now; they had grown older and more mature as time passed, and they didn't need each other anymore.

Nayli sighed. "Same as the last time I talked to you. We're still s_treet rats_. Just as always."

"Oh, c'mon, Nay! Don't be so hard on yourself," Bolin chirped, wrapping a muscled arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah. Says the guy who belongs to the best Pro-bending team out there," the girl snorted, rolling her eyes. "And who has grown up to be... _quite_ the look- yeah, let's just cut to the chase: you're hot."

Bolin laughed a hearty giggle, amused by her still blunt personality. But they had never hidden anything from each other. Mako and Bolin and Nayli were best friends. What did they have to hide? "Not what you expected of a pudgy 12-year-old Bolin, huh?"

"Not in my wildest dreams." Nayli smiled, catching his gaze. "So! Am I gonna have to hug you first, or...?"

The earth bender turned towards Mako and motioned him over. "C'mon, bro. You gotta be in this hug, too!"

"I don't think-"

"Sweetie! I've been looking everywhere for you!" A tall girl with dark, shiny hair and porcelain skin walked into the room and made a beeline towards Mako. She wrapped both arms around his waist and pecked him on the lips. His mood instantly brightened before his eyes locked with Nayli's for a brief second, then plastered a fake "happy" smile on his face when he turned back towards that girl.

Nayli wrinkled her nose in disgust. Mainly because she looked like absolute _trash_ compared to this girl. Yeah, she smelled like jasmine lilies, and had new clothes on that Yong had insisted on buying for her, and her hair was pretty and straight; she looked better than she did in years. But who could compete with... _that_!

"Well, I guess it's just us two in this group hug," Bolin shrugged, glancing towards Mako and that girl.

"Um, who's the whore?" she whispered, and they both snickered.

Bolin then frowned. "Wait, that's mean, Nay! And that's Asami, Mako's new _girlfriend_."

Nayli examined the "Asami" girl, and uncertainty swam in her gut. "I don't like her, Bo."

"She's nice, and he's happy, so I'm fine with it..."

Soon enough, the whole room was filled with giggles from that annoying girl and the couple would kiss every once in a while.

Nayli and Bolin shot weary glances at each other and they instantly knew what that meant: _Let's get the hell out of here._

Ever since they were younger, her and Bolin had always used this silent language to communicate whenever they wanted to share things that couldn't be said aloud. It was especially handy when they got into situations while Mako wasn't there, and had to find a way out of it. Or when they pulled pranks on the older brother._  
_

She had a share of fun times with both brothers, but right now, Nayli was more fond of Bolin at the moment, and had a feeling she would be for a while...

* * *

**A/N: What is my life about? I don't know what I'm even doing anymore. This came to me the other day, and I was like, "Anfviurabuio. What if Mako and Bolin met an old friend that they used to share awesome adventures with! Such angst and action could ensue! Especially since Nayli is a total slut when it comes to the brothers and wants to do dirty things with them both..." And then I wrote this. xD**

**R&R, you lovely people, you!  
**


	2. Chapter 2: Reconciliation

_"I sense there's something in the wind_  
_That feels like tragedy's at hand_  
_And though I'd like to stand by him_  
_Can't shake this feeling that I have_  
_The worst is just around the bend_  
_And does he notice my feelings for him?_  
_And will he see how much he means to me?"_

* * *

Nayli woke up with a terrible throbbing between her shoulders and a fierce headache. She examined her surroundings for a second before realizing she was on the couch in some apartment that was overlooking a body of water. It looked to be around midnight, with the darkened sky and the fact that every light in Republic City was on.

Then she remembered what happened. Well, more like bits and pieces. The girl remembered Bolin introducing her to Avatar Korra, who was completely awesome in every way she had the absolute pleasure of meeting Asami, who was pretty, and perfect, and nice. Man, did she have some competition! If it wasn't the richest and prettiest girl in the city, it was the Avatar!

Mako refused to even look at her.

But Bo, he wouldn't stop talking to her about awesome everything was for them and how she could stay with them in the attic where they lived, which Mako quickly refused to, even though he knew how hard everything was for her living on the streets, seeing as he had lived the exact same life.

Her and Bolin had talked about pretty much everything, including how more mature they had become and how pretty Nay looked with her hair all straight and the blue of her shirt bringing out her eyes.

Then they started the match. That Tahno dude and the Wolfbats were using completely illegal moves on the Fire Ferrets and they lost. And then she saw it. Bolts of lightning erupting throughout the arena, then Amon dropping from the top of the building and wreaking havoc. A woman looking much like herself appeared in the doorway, mask over her face, and shocked her right between her shoulder blades, to which she then passed out from the pain.

Then Nayli ended up here.

"Are you okay?" a smooth voice asked, patting a wet cloth to Nayli's forehead.

The waterbender coughed once. "Yeah," she replied, her voice cracking.

"You need to get that place on your back healed. It doesn't look good." Nayli opened her eyes and figured out that the voice was Asami, who was sitting beside her on the couch with a worried look on her face.

"Seriously, I'm fine," Nayli hissed, easing herself up with her arms. The burn on her back protested at her movement and a sting of pain shot down her spine; Nay bit down on the inside of her cheek to hold back a scream.

Bolin, Mako, and Korra appeared inside the room with bags in hand.

"Oh, thank spirits you're awake," Korra said, smiling. "I thought you were dead when we found you."

"We brought food!" Bolin yelled, waving the bag in his hand.

Nayli re-examined the room; she felt like she was missing something.

"Wait! Where's my little sister!" she asked, jumping up from the couch. Her instincts had kicked in and adrenaline started pumping through her veins.

The room fell into an awkward silence, and Bolin was the first to talk. "Delicious food, right here!"

"Hello? Did you guys just turn deaf? WHERE'S MY SISTER!" She was fuming at that point and rushed towards the exit.

Mako grabbed her by the wrist and spun her around. "The Equalists got her," he whispered, guilt churning in his stomach. He knew how that felt to lose someone you had been protecting for so long. It happened with Bo.

"Oh spirits," she breathed, pressing a hand to forehead. "No. Oh Gods, no."

"I tried to get her back, Nayli, but we were outnumbered," Korra told the frantic girl.

"I have to get her back!" Nay wrenched her hand from Mako's grip and attempted to leave again. Mako just grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"No, it's too dangerous." He still wouldn't meet her eyes and just looked off to the side.

Nayli cackled at his comment. "Oh my- are you kidding me right now? If that was Bo you'd be tearing down Republic City!"

"It's too dangerous. You can't go alone... We'll go tomorrow, okay?"

"Tomorrow she could be-"

Asami lay a hand on Mako's shoulder. "No. They're probably using her for leverage. I mean, they had to see us with her."

Mako turned to look at his girlfriend. "I never thought of that. That is probably why. I mean, why else would Amon take some random girl?"

Korra yawned loudly and threw her arms over her head. "Can we talk about this tomorrow? I'm exhausted and I really need to get back to the island before Tenzin kills me."

"Sure," Nayli sighed. "I need to go too."

"Where are you going?" Bolin asked, running to stand in front of her. "You're not gonna sleep on the streets tonight. Mako's gonna stop being a baby and get over what happened four years ago and let you stay here."

Nay patted his cheek. "I agree, but I don't need to intrude. Just forget we ever saw each other. I'll go look for my sister tomorrow and we'll be done." She turned to the older brother and smiled, "Right, Mako?"

"No. Stay." Just two words that made Nayli stop in her tracks and tears well in her eyes. He wanted her to stay. Mako wanted her. Her mind had invented false hope that he wanted to be friends with her again and mend what was broken. Maybe, deep inside, he liked her. Like liked her.

False hope. That's all it was. Why would he want her? He had a perfect girlfriend, and even if Asami broke up with him, he had Korra. The AVATAR.

Wait, why did she even like him? Bolin was amazing and sweet and perfect. WHAT WAS HER BRAIN DOING? She liked the bending brothers. Her BEST FRIENDS. And neither of them liked her back. Well, maybe Bolin, but yet he was always a little flirt, even when he was younger.

"Okay," was all she could muster up the courage to say.

* * *

Mako couldn't sleep.

He had tossed and turned for three hours straight and didn't even feel a hint of sleepiness that would ease his eyelids closed after a long day of work.

He was too focused on the girl in his room, dressed in his little brother's over-sized shirt, and sleeping in Bo's bed. But the earthbender was sleeping on the couch tonight, Mako hoped. He insisted.

Nayli. The name that made his heart sink, and the girl in which it belonged that had made his pulse stop when he saw her after all those years. But not because he loved her, or even liked her; but because he remembered what happened that night, four years ago, and he felt sad. Really sad. Her being around him was a constant reminder of the past. Their past.

But Bolin, on the other hand, enjoyed Nay's company. He didn't stop talking to her, and would always be touching her, even when he didn't realize it.

Maybe Bo had moved on from Korra, and Mako was happy at the thought. No more stupid fighting over girls. Even if it meant replacing Korra with HER. Because nobody could replace Korra. She was one of a kind. And that's what Mako loved so much about her.

Mako sighed, and decided that he obviously wasn't going to sleep tonight until Nay was gone. He almost wished that he had let her go, but it would have broken Bo's heart, and Mako couldn't do that.

He crawled out of bed, easing his way down the ladder, and over to the window over-looking the clear blue ocean and the air temple.

Mako sat there, leaning against the window sill, legs outstretched. And he just sat there. Minutes, maybe hours even passed, but he eventually heard it. The quiet sound of whimpering, coming from Bolin's bed. He figured his little brother was probably having a nightmare, which happened pretty frequently, but then he remembered: Nayli was up there. Not Bolin.

Mako groaned internally, but years of consoling his little brother made a guilt rise in his chest.

Comfort her, his conscience whispered again and again, each time getting louder, until the two words were being screamed at him.

He glanced up at the bed, the covers were rustling over her and light cries would escape her lips sporadically.

He rose from the window sill and tip-toed over to the ladder leading up to Bolin's bed. He glanced over at the couch, becoming assured that the earthbender was still asleep - and snoring loudly.

Mako hesitated for a second as he laid a hand on the light wood, gripping it tightly as he ascended.

Nayli heard him coming. She had been watching him silently lay in his bed as she did the same, then she accidentally fell asleep, and she awoke from a terrible nightmare to find him at the window sill.

Bolin was pretty much dead to the world.

Nay adjusted the over-sized shirt Bolin lent her for the night, as it had rose to her navel when she was tossing and turning in her sleep. That would be quite the awkward confrontation if he found her all scantily clad - if she had anything to show, unlike other girls her age.

* * *

Yuri wouldn't have worried when the scary masked people took her. She knew that her sister would come and rescue her like she always did. But this time it was different. She was scared; afraid that her sister wouldn't rescue her in time.

The black cable binding her hands and feet dug into her skin, and it hurt every time she would move. Yuri didn't like it. It was dark and cold and Nay wasn't there to hug her and tell her everything was okay.

She wanted Mommy and Daddy. To feel their arms wrap around her and tell her that she'll be safe, and they'll never leave her and Nay again.

She leaned her head into her knees and tears threatened to spill on to her cheeks.

"Little girl?" a soft voice said, and Yuri glanced up to find a woman in that scary outfit, mask in hand. She cowered against the wall of the building and buried her head in her knees. "Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you. It's okay," the woman told her, easing forward with her hands outstretched.

"Where's my sissy?" Yuri asked, sniffing.

"I don't know, but you'll see her soon. I promise." The pretty woman leaned in front of the little girl with a smile on her face.

* * *

He reached for her shoulder, his hand hovering slightly with uncertainty.

"What is it, Mako?" Nayli snapped, turning her face a little towards him.

"You were having a nightmare, so I'd thought I'd try to be nice and wake you," he whispered, using the same venom in his voice as she had.

Nay laughed curtly under her breath. "First time you've been nice all day."

Mako ran a set of fingers through his tousled hair. He almost felt bad, given how hurt she sounded. The waterbender's eyes closed, and her dark eyelashes brushed lightly against her pale cheeks. Mako had to look away and clear his throat to keep from doing something stupid, like brushing his fingers over the lightly freckled skin of her cheeks, which occurred to him more than once.

"Well, since you're awake I'll-"

"Wait," she whispered, reaching up and grabbing his wrist. "I want to ask you something."

Mako rolled his eyes. "What? I'm tired and I would like to go to bed."

The strong, independent, motherly woman he had just looked at disappeared in a matter of a second, and what was now sitting before him was that 7-year-old girl Mako just met with every insecurity and fear known to man, but still tried to survive.

Nay's lower lip quivered, and she bit down on it to cease the movement. The tears welling up in her eyes threatened to flow yet again, but she glanced up at the ceiling to keep them contained - a trick she had learned. Nayli couldn't let anyone - especially Mako - see her cry. She was supposed to be the strong, fearless one, and couldn't show any sign of weakness - for her sister's sake.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, and Mako could barely make out her words, but it was probably the most painful thing someone had asked him. Because his best friend thought he hated her.

Nay lowered her head when the tears fell from her eyes and stained her cheeks. She felt so ashamed. Nobody had ever made her cry. So how could he - the one who was supposed to protect and be there for her - do that to her?

"You hate me. I know you do. You haven't even looked at me, and you refuse to hug me or talk to me or tell me that you missed me or be around me." Sniffle. " I feel terrible, and it hurts. Because I don't know what I did that was so bad that I had to lose you. But if I could, I would take it all back. Because I miss you. You're my best friend, and I love you, Mako."

Mako grabbed her face in his hands and crashed his lips to hers. Nay took two fistfuls of his hair in both hands and pulled them closer, feeling his fingers tugging at the over-sized shirt covering her body.

And that's when she woke up. She had fallen asleep waiting on him to touch her, to shake her and tell her to wake up; she wanted him to comfort her...

"Gooood morning, Nay!" Bolin sat on the edge of her bed with a messy head of hair, a grin plastered on his lips, and no shirt on. She could see the muscles ripple in his arm when he patted her thigh, signaling her to get up.

"Morning, Bo," she said, stretching. She flexed her arms and legs, and even her toes cracked when she curled them.

"So, how did our lovely guest sleep last night?" Bolin climbed down the ladder and glanced up at her peering over the edge.

"She slept wonderfully! Just a little night terror, but I'm used to it. It happens allllll the time." Nay smiled as she also climbed down the ladder, where Bo was waiting.

* * *

"Excuse me, you three are going to have to exit the premises. Chief's orders," an officer informed the three shortly after their breakfast.

"I think that's my cue to leave," Nayli said, throwing on her clothes and then setting her bag beside the exit.

The officer left with a slight nod of his head and then Asami stepped in.

She jumped back when she saw Nay standing beside her, packing her things. "Oh, hey Nayli. I didn't think you would still be here."

"Me either," Nay sighed. "I figured Mako would have kicked me out already."

Mako shot Nay an annoyed glance. "Hey, Asami."

"Hey, sweetie," she said, giving him a peck on the lips. "I heard that you guys are having to move out because of the whole Equalist thing last night."

Nay looked around and saw Bolin packing his stuff, along with Mako.

"I mean, it's not fair! They can't just take our home like that," Bolin sulked.

"Actually, that's why I came by." Asami smiled. "You guys can stay at my house!"

"What about-"

"My dad? Don't worry, I'll handle it."

Nayli threw her jacket on and walked over to her bags. "I really need to go and find my sister. Thanks a lot for letting me spend the night."

Bolin stood up and ran over to her. "But we were gonna find your sister! Mako, tell her she doesn't have to leave!"

Asami wrapped her arm around Mako's waist and shot him a knowing glance. "Actually, I was going to see if Nayli wanted to stay, too. It must be hard living on the streets, and having another girl in the house would be nice."

Nay stopped in her tracks and turned toward Asami, who she was actually beginning to like. "I'm extremely thankful for the invitation, but I don't wanna become a burden. And I've lived too long on my own. It would be weird with someone else supporting me."

* * *

Nay knocked on the door twice, and one of the housekeepers opened the door to let her in.

"Where is Asa-" Nayli started, but paused when Mako walked up to the door.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied, smiling.

"So, how about we get out of here and rescue that sister of yours?"

The girl's eyebrows raised. "R- really?"

"Of course." Mako smiled for the first time since she'd seen him. "I'd do the same thing if it were Bo."

* * *

"Where should we start looking?" Mako asked, rubbing the back of his neck. He really didn't want to do this, but that voice inside his head told him to help her, because she was right. He would do the same thing if it was his brother.

"Well, my friend Yong and I stumbled upon an Equalist tunnel not too long ago. It isn't far from here, actually," Nayli told him, shrugging her shoulders. They walked down the empty streets near the park at around midnight, a certain melancholy feeling seeming to follow them. "I just hope she's okay," she then murmured, wrapping her naked arms around herself.

The air was extremely nippy, seeing as it was practically winter, just without snowfall. Nayli then thought it may have been a good idea to wear her new jacket; but she couldn't have that getting in her way.

Mako glanced over from the corner of his eye and noticed that the girl beside him was shivering, and had nothing covering her arms.

"You have to be pretty stupid to not wear a jacket in this kind of weather," he pointed out, shoving his gloved hands in his pockets.

Nay glared daggers at him. "Excuse me?"

"I'm just saying that after all these years of caring for your sister, it didn't occur to you to throw on a simple jacket? I'm pretty sure you had to remind Yuri plently of times."

"Actually, no. See, Yuri does this thing called firebending, where she can heat herself up." Nayli said every word so slow, it sounded like she was talking to someone who couldn't speak their language.

"Okay, smartass. You proved your point." The 18-year-old said with a sly smile.

"I learned from the best, Mr. Dick."

"What?"

"You're always a dick. And it's funny because I hear you apologize so much, but if you weren't such a douche, you wouldn't have to."

"..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought, Mr. Dick..." Nay whispered. "I swear, if-"

A chi-blocker lurking in the shadows saw the two pass by, and went straight to capture the girl. A long piece of wire snaked around Nay's waist and dragged her in to the shadows. Mako chased after her but was cut short when two chi-blockers restrained him and striked the back of his neck and places along his back, causing his vision to swim before darkening altogether.

* * *

A sharp kick to the stomach caused Nay to jolt awake, sweat dotting her brow. Her vision was blotchy and her throat dry; she couldn't scream for help.

When her eyesight finally cleared, she looked up and saw Mako being chained to the wall of some metal box while she was being chained to the floor. By Equalists.

"Mako," Nay managed to choke out, but was rewarded with a kick to her ribs.

"I don't think your friend can help you now," one of them said, towering over her. Their green goggle-like eyes stared down right at her, their hands clenched.

What mess did they get themselves in to?

* * *

**A/N:**

**Okay, wow. I had no idea people would like this story so much! Thanks everyone for all the reviews and the story alerts/faves. It seriously made me want to write so much more! **

**So, I hoped you like this chapter, and tell me what you thought about it, and what you'd like to see in the next chapter/s even! I LOVE to hear feedback (positive mostly). (:**

**-Cough, cough- Review! **

**Oh! And the new episode today! I gotta fangirl about THAT! Akdjxkxj. I am wierdly attracted to Amon/his voice... And Tenzin. I don't know why, just... yeah.**

**Bolin, my bb, gettin' all bathroom shy (when I'm sure there's nothing shy about what is going on in those pants) and then Lin zipping up his fly. (I might ship it...)**

**Mako and that fucking mess between Asami and Korra. I feel terrible for Asami, because the guy she loves is falling in love with another girl right before her eyes. Poor bb. **

**Aang being a BAMF and sexy Sokka and Toph. Then Yokone and Tarrlok and them being their dickish selves, hurting my bbies. I cried; maybe sobbed at the flashbacks. And then went to go die in a hole.**

**Amon being a hero for half a millisecond.**

**And Lin's boobs. That is all. **

**THE POINT IS: THIS SERIES IS RIPPING ME TO FUCKING SHREDS, OKAY! **

(Oh, to the person that said Asami was so out of character they could cry and she only said one line, which I needed to fix:

Um, I love Asami. She's really chill and stuff. This was written from Nayli's point of view and what she thinks of her, not how I portray her... So of course, since Nay likes Mako, she's gonna think of Asami as an annoying prissy bitch. So, yeah, you mistook my intention, or just have no idea how to portray writing. But I hope this chapter is SO much better for you and Asami, since she has more than one line. c: )


	3. Chapter 3: Escape

_"But you didn't have to cut me off,_

_Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing,_

_And I don't even need your love,_

_But you treat me like a stranger,_

_And it feels so rough."_

* * *

Nayli lightly pressed an ear to the metal box where her and Mako were being held, and listened to the muffled voices of the Equalists; she could only make out the words 'Amon', 'lovers' and 'bending'. Nay banged loudly on the metal three times, causing the harsh sound to reverberate off the walls and ring in her ears.

She felt Mako harshly tap her knee, silently telling her to stop. Nayli looked down at him with a frown on her face and he tugged the arm of her jacket, causing her to fall against him.

"Are you trying to get us killed?" he whispered in her ear.

Nay crossed her arms. "Do you have a better plan?"

"Let's just wait it out. Maybe they'll let us go," he replied, absentmindedly bringing the red scarf to his face.

The waterbender bit the inside of her cheek. "They won't let us go, Mako. They're not that nice..." She stretched out her sore legs, and her boots were immediately met with the opposite wall.

Nayli lowered her head and touched the crescent moon-shaped necklace hidden under her clothes. Her mother, Kiva, had given it to her when they found out that she was a waterbender ten years ago; her sister had just been born.

The girl wiped away the tears that had escaped and looked over at Mako, who was staring at her with concern in his eyes; those smoldering golden eyes she had missed so much.

She just couldn't believe he was finally looking at her, let alone staring in her soul, practically. Nay felt intimidated, like a little bug that was about to be squashed.

"Why did you leave us?" he asked randomly, still locking her in his gaze.

She licked her dry lips and ran a set of fingers through her dark, messy hair.

"Why?" Mako grabbed her bicep and turned her body towards him. "We needed you, Nay, and you just left."

"Is that why you hate me so much? Why you act like you don't even know me?" she hissed, wrenching herself away from him and standing up.

"Actually, it is!" he retorted, rising from the ground also.

"Ugh! See, this is why I hate getting close to people! Because everyone that I love goes away. And it's always my fault, because I always mess everything up! Like with you, and Bo, and Yuri. And my parents... If I hadn't forced them to go back... they would be alive right now!"

Mako forgot about his anger or his hurt for half a second. All he thought about was the vulnerable Nayli in front of him as the tears fell down her cheeks and her fears unfolded right along with her emotions; something nobody had ever seen.

The firebender grabbed her shoulder and pulled Nay in for an overdue hug. He lay his cheek on her head and inhaled her scent, which smelled of mostly smoke and jasmine lilies. "I'm sorry," was all that was said between the two as they just stood there, silent.

Nayli buried her face in the crook of his neck and silently thanked the spirits that she finally got to touch him.

The door suddenly opened, and an Equalist grabbed Nay by her arms and attempted to drag her out of the cell. Mako clutched the pockets of her jacket and tried to wrench her loose from the chi-blocker's hands.

"Let me go!" Nay shrieked, flailing her arms around. She stopped and clenched her fists, and the chi-blocker let her go and backed away from the cell.

"The hell...?" Mako muttered, observing the girl standing in front of him, still clenching her fists.

"Guess they decided to let us go," she shrugged, raising her arms and exiting the metal container.

The Equalists seemed to move unnaturally, almost mechanically as they parted to let the teens pass by. Moans and groans were heard as they tried to struggle away from the unknown entity controlling their body.

"Nay... are you... bloodbending?" Mako asked through gritted teeth. He stepped in front of the girl and grabbed her wrist.

"Stop! Do you want us to get out of here or not?"

"But- this is completely inhumane!" Mako's voice raised with each word he spoke. He just refused to believe that Nay - the sweetest person he'd ever met - could even do such a thing. Maybe she wasn't who he thought she was anymore.

"Oh, and locking us in a damned cage for hours isn't?" Nay retorted, swiping her arms towards the wall. All the Equalists were thrown like ragdolls against the floor and Nay raised her palms to summon tiny droplets of water. She pinned the masked people to the ground with another swipe of her arms. "If that was Asami or Korra, you wouldn't hesitate to get out of here."

"What do they have to do with any of this?" Mako asked as they both headed for a set of stairs leading to a metal balcony over their heads.

It was some sort of secret warehouse they were put in. Equalist posters showing the masked Amon were strewn all along the walls and hung from the cieling. Crates upon crates filled with the chi-blocker's clothes, weapons and supplies were lined up in the middle of the large room.

Nay turned to him as they were ascending the steps. "Everything. I see the way you look at Korra. You look as if you really like her, maybe even love her, but yet you're dating Asami." She stalked up the steps and Mako was too dumbfound to follow behind. "Those poor girls are gonna get their heart ripped in to a million pieces, and you're too wrapped up in your own fucking pride to save them from heartbreak."

* * *

"Hey, sweetie," the sweet-voiced lady said, reaching for Yuri's hand between the metal bars. "I got your favorite sausage from Hanh's. Ya know, that white stand at the corner of the street?"

Yuri lifted her tired head, aching to rest her eyes for a moment. "Will you sing to me, sweet lady?"

"Call me Kisa," the woman replied with a soft smile as she unlocked Yuri's cell and stepped inside. "Do you want to sing the one that your sister taught you?" Yuri shook her weary head as the older woman sat beside her. "The one I sang?" The small girl nodded in Kisa's arms. "Okay, sweetie."

Kisa inhaled a large breath and started to sing the song, rocking Yuri to the motions of the words.

_"Dark the stars and dark the moon. _

_Hush the night and the morning loon _

_Tell the horses and beat on your drum:_

_Gone their master, gone their son_

_Dark the oceans, dark the sky_

_Hush the whales and the ocean tide_

_Tell the salt marsh and beat on your drum:_

_Gone their master, gone their son_

_Dark to light and light to dark_

_Three black carriages, three white carts._

_What brings us together is what pulls us apart_

_Gone our brother, gone our heart_

_Hush the whales and the ocean tide_

_Tell the salt marsh and beat on your drum:_

_Gone their master, gone their son."_

As the song ended, Yuri was fast asleep with her head on the stranger's chest, cuddling in to her bosom. The only way Kisa could get the girl to sleep a few hours was to sing to her. Of course, when she had to leave before getting caught, the girl would awaken and start yelling for her older sister, Nayli. Kisa felt heartbroken. She had lost a child three months ago, on the eve of twenty-fourth birthday, and having Yuri there made her feel... whole. It felt like she was singing to her eight-year-old daughter, Yuma. That's why Kisa felt such a strong connection to the ten-year-old.

"I won't let anything happen to you," Kisa murmured against the slumbering girl's auburn hair. "You'll see your sister again if it's the last damn thing I do."

* * *

"Hey, Bolin? Have you seen Mako?" Asami asked from the doorway of the living room, where Bolin lay on the couch, listening to the music on the radio.

The earthbender pursed his lips in deep thought. "I haven't seen him all day, actually."

"Yeah, well, that's unlike him..."

The housekeeper named Yakoza stepped in to the room before bowing respectfully. "Miss Asami, Master Mako seems to have left with the girl you were expecting today."

"Nayli?" Asami and Bolin both inquired. Yakoza nodded her head in agreement.

"How long ago?" Asami sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Um, around early morning."

"It's ten o' clock and the sun went down hours ago. Where could they be?" Bolin pouted his lips and tugged on Asami's jacket, as if he were a lost child asking for his mother. "What if they're in trouble?"

* * *

Nayli ducked an incoming punch at her left cheek and twisted the Equalist's arm to shove behind their back before kicking them away.

She thought that was the last of them, but failed to notice the chi-blocker sneak up behind her. With a few sharp punches, her bending was lost and the readied water whip collapsed on to the floor.

"Shit!" she cursed, clutching her lower back where most of the jabs were located. She had it happen a couple of times on the streets, and got her ass kicked every time, so bending loss was nothing new to her; neither was losing.

Mako was trying to turn the metal wheel that opened the damned door to the steps leading to the main warehouse while Nayli was on defense in front of him.

"Hurry the fuck up!" Nay yelled behind her shoulder as a stiletto barely flew past her head. She had never seen them use that weapon before.

"How about you try it, since you're so damn good at everything!"

"Now's not the time to pick a fight," the waterbender warned, blocking a fierce attack aimed at her neck.

"Yeah, well, I'm still pissed at your comment earlier." Mako pushed against the rusted wheel with as much strength as he could muster, but it still wouldn't budge.

"I'm still pissed at how you blow me off when I attempt to be nice and try to get my best friend back!"

Mako stopped his straining and glared at the girl that was causing his temper to flare yet again. But what was new? "I don't think we'll ever be bestfriends, or even friends, again."

Nayli froze mid-punch and turned her head slowly to face Mako with a pained expression crossing her normal features.

"Never?" she choked out, halting her defenses. "What about the fact that I-" The chi-blocker she was currently fighting grabbed Nay's long hair and slammed her back against the wall; her vision swam on impact. And she was pushed into the wall again... And again.

The woman - she could tell by the breasts under her shirt - was jerked off of the water bender and was pushed to the ground by Mako, which there were now three of through her eyes.

"Would you stop fucking around and help me get us out of here?" Mako glared at her, all the compassion previously seen in his eyes now gone. As he led her through the now open door, his hand on her bicep was still caring, unlike the death grip she thought her arm would receive.

No matter how mad he got or how pissed off she made him, Mako still didn't want anything bad to happen to her, and he certainly didn't want to hurt her, which was what she must have been expecting since she cowered away from him when they walked.

"How did you get the door open?" Nay asked incredulously, blinking her eyes a few times to steady her vision.

"Adrenaline," he said quickly, refusing the urge to look at her.

So their friendship was pretty much back to square one.

* * *

They walked for at least half an hour through the maze-like building, coming to dead ends at practically every turn. There were useless doors that lead to exits all around the building, but all of them were sealed shut for whatever reason.

"Only an Equalist knows how to get out of this damn place," Mako murmured, mostly to himself, since Nayli was complete ignoring him. And for good reason. What he said earlier was such a dick move, and frankly, he didn't blame her for being mad at him.

"Did you really mean what you said earlier?" Nayli whispered as she twiddled her thumbs behind her back.

Mako sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes... I don't know... No."

"Then why did you say it?" Nay asked as the two turned a corner, before seeing three Equalists leaning against a large door. They quickly backed up and peeked around the corner before the chi-blockers saw them.

"That has to be the exit," Mako whispered from above her. She looked up at him from where she was crouching on the floor; he was leaning over her.

"How are we gonna get through? Just casually walk past 'em?"

"No. We need to disguise ourselves."

The waterbender raised a thin eyebrow. "As Equalists?"

"Because you have a much better plan." Mako jeered, staring down at her.

"... We could just go over there and kick their butts."

"And get our bending taken away? Too risky. We need to go back to those chi-blockers we've tied up and-"

"Steal their outifts."

"Yeah."

The teens silently snuck away from the corner and raced through the building.

"Okay, I remember this. From here it's..." She paused and tapped the pads of her fingers with her thumb. "Right, left, right, right, left, right, left," she then chanted the directions with every corner they turned.

"How did you get such a good memory?" Mako asked her once they were inside the metal room and were about to untie the chi-blockers.

"Survival tactic." Mako furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "In a large place like Republic City, you have to remember every corner and turn to survive from criminals and stuff. Especially when you have to run the streets at night," the girl said casually as she undressed a female Equalist.

The firebender fell taciturn.

"You're lucky, Mako, having somewhere to stay with your brother and not worrying about getting murdered or robbed, or where you'll sleep, or if you'll be able to even stay in the streets when it calls for bad weather." Nayli sighed. "I don't know what Yuri and I are gonna do now that it's winter. We won't be able to sleep outside in the cold weather."

"Asami invited you to stay with us," Mako reinformed her. He turned away to let her undress as he did the same.

"You don't understand. My whole life I've taken care of myself. I don't want someone to do it for me," Nayli explained to him. She fixed the buttons of her shirt and turned to him, but he was already facing her, shirtless, and staring with those beautiful golden eyes.

"Do you ever let someone do something for you?"

"... No." Her voice was just above a whisper when she answered him. Spirits could have taken her right then and there. "Is there a reason you're..." 'Shirtless. Say shirtless, Nay. But look how-' "So perfect?"

Mako averted his eyes away from her and cleared his throat, awkwardly throwing the rest of his outfit on.

"No! I didn't mean perfect! I meant shirtless, but my brain decided to be a dick and change my words around," Nay blurted, raising her arms in front of her in defense. She internally killed herself three times.

"Yeah... Let's just -cough- get out of here."

* * *

Bolin and Asami were eating breakfast in the large dining room when a knock on the door alerted them.

"I'll get it, Miss Asami," Yakoza told the non-bender before bowing and heading for the door.

Nayli and Mako greeted the house keeper and walked through the mansion as Yakoza lead them to the dining room.

"Mako," Asami sighed dreamily, and rose from her chair.

"Nay!" Bolin stood up at the same time Asami did and they both greeted the teens, Equalist outfits and all. "We were so worried about you guys."

"Yeah," Asami laughed, which sounded like pretty wind chimes to Nayli. "We thought something terrible happened to you."

Mako and Nay then proceeded to tell them all that had happened, minus the hug and the waterbender making a complete fool of herself.

* * *

The night air was chilly against Nayli's feverish face and cooled the beads of sweat along her brow. She had waoken from another night terror like every other night and was dizzy from her high temperature. The waterbender opened the large window in her bedroom to let some fresh air in and clear her mind.

She felt a strong arm wrap around her shoulders. "Hey," Bolin whispered.

Nay giggled and leaned against his shoulder. "What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep, and then I heard you scream... You okay?"

"Yeah. Just a stupid nightmare." The girl shrugged her shoulders.

"About your parents?" Bolin wondered as he led Nay over to the queen-sized bed.

She looked up at him. He had light rings under his eyes and his hair was tousled, but he still had that boyish gleam in his green orbs.

"Yeah... Hey, Bo. Can I ask you something?" He hummed his lips in response. "Do you still see me as your best friend?"

The earthbender raised his thick eyebrows. "Of course! Wh - why?"

"Well, Mako-"

"Aw, don't listen to him." Bolin waved his hand as if to dismiss the comment.

"Well, what the hell is going on with him and Korra?"

Bolin frowned at the question and then cleared his throat. "Um. Nothing." He laughed nervously.

"Don't lie, Bo. I thought we never kept anything from each other." Nay clutched his bicep pouted her lower lip.

"Okay, okay. They kissed during the competition."

Nayli seethed anger - maybe jealousy, she wasn't sure. She ground her teeth together. How could he do that to Asami? The girl didn't like heiress - hell, she didn't _know_ her - but that was just a slap to Asami's face. "And?"

Bolin sighed. "Well, I kinda... really liked her at the time."

"And he still _kissed_ her? _Who would do their little brother like that!_" The waterbender's voice rose way above a scream and Bolin quickly tried to hush her.

"I don't like her anymore!"

Nay threw her arms up in the air. "Bull shit! You don't get over someone that fast!"

Bolin lowered his head and pressed his forefingers together. Nay wasn't expecting him to ask this. "So, you're saying you still love Mako?"

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so, I really liked this chapter, and it was a lot of fun to write. Hopefully you guys liked it, too! (Cough, cough, REVIEW!)**

**And today's episode of Korra:**

**SO MANY FEELS. **

**Cloudbabies and their fighting skillz!**

**Chief losing her bending! I fucking cried! All the awards! **

**Pema going into labor.**

**Amon. **

**Dante Basco voices Iroh. Akfjsjxjsk. **

**Everyone being all badass and shit.**

**Asami and watching pretty much all she has slip through her fingers. I have so much RESPECT for her. She is my favorite character. Seriously. Such a badass. **

**BUT, even though I loved the episode, I cringe every time there is a Makorra moment. I used to LOVE the pairing. Now it just seems forced. It makes me dread a new Korra episode. Because I know that someone is gonna get hurt. And I would hate for one of my bbies to get their heart broken. **

**And I WON'T BE IN TOWN FOR THE SEASON FINALE. Angerrrr. **

**/rant over. **


	4. Chapter 4: Destiny is a Funny Thing

**Warning: There is some smut at the beginning of this chapter, so skip it or read, whichever you want. Don't blame me if you don't like reading it, because I DID warn you. Okay, continue!**

* * *

_"He starts with her back cause that's what he sees,_

_When she's breaking his heart she still fucks like a tease,_

_Release to the sky,_

_Look him straight in the eye,_

_And tell him right now that you wish he would die._

_You'll never touch him again, so get what you can,_

_Leaving him empty just because he's a man,_

_So good when it ends, they'll never be friends,_

_One more night is all they could spend in,"_

* * *

Nayli took a ragged breath and flinched. It was the question she had been waiting to be asked by one of the two brothers, that was inevitable, but just hearing the words come out of Bolin's mouth made her cringe.

"Listen," she stated in the most formal tone she could manage, "I don't love Mako anymore. My feelings for him have vanished in to oblivion." She then leaned forward and planted a chaste kiss to his lips to prove her words true.

Even though the kiss wasn't supposed to mean anything, the waterbender could still feel that familiar heat pool in to her stomach and coat her inner thighs. Her eyelids fluttered open and she found Bolin staring at her bewildered.

"Good to know," he whispered, when she finally pulled back to sit in front of him, her hand on his knee.

He felt like his whole body was about to explode from excitement - maybe arousal. Bolin just couldn't believe that she had kissed him like that. His heart fluttered in his chest and his breathing increased dramatically when her hand rubbed his thigh.

Nayli then pulled away and inwardly slapped herself as she buried her face in her petite hands with a dry laugh.

"I am so, so sorry. I don't what came over me, Bo. That - I just - I'm so stupid."

Nay was never one to be affectionate, or even show emotion, to anyone other than her little sister - unless someone was in trouble, then her motherly instincts would kick in - but even that was just hugs, embraces, and motherly kisses; not actions fueled by lust.

"Wow," Bolin breathed. He covered his mouth with his hand and giggled like a school child who had just won a bushel of candy. The teen looked up at his friend. "I never thought you were the type to kiss on the first date," he joked with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Nayli broke out in hearty chortles and she threw her head back, falling backwards on the bed. "Oh shit!" she exclaimed as her body tumbled off the soft comforter and in to the wooden floor. The woman was closer to the edge than she thought.

Footsteps were heard outside the door before it was flung open, revealing a worried Mako.

"What ha... ppened..." The firebender thought something was wrong by the loud thumps that were heard in her room, which was right next to his. He thought someone had either broken in, Nay was getting murdered, or she had gone batshit crazy from her sister being gone and was ready to comfort her. He never would have expected that the situation was just her and his brother, both half-naked, probably messing around and doing Spirits-know-what.

When Nay looked up and saw an upside down Mako in the doorway, her lips formed a harsh line and all laughing ceased.

"Oh, hey Mako," Bolin said casually as he hopped off the plush matress and picked the girl off the floor, placing her on the bed. "What 'cha doin' here?"

"I heard thumping and thought something was wrong... What the actual hell are you doing in Nay's bedroom, first of all, Bo?"

Nayli leaned back on her arms and crossed her legs. "You sound jelly. Are you jelly? He sounds jelly, doesn't he, Bo?"

Mako looked over to the girl with a confused expression on his face. "What's 'jelly'?"

"Jelly. As in jealous. Gosh, get your lingo right!"

Nay and Bolin were starting to feel very slaphappy from the insomnia they had suffered from the past couple of nights, and when you mix them together with lack of sleep, bad things happen.

"Did you guys take drugs?" The firebender rubbed the sleep from his eyes and his train of thought focused on the pretty non-bender he had left in his bed.

"No," Nayli scoffed. She pinched herself to keep awake and silently scolded herself for getting so out of hand.

"I don't even wanna know-"

"We didn't fuck if that's what you're implying," she interrupted, rolling her eyes in obvious irritation.

Mako shot her a disgusted glare and crossed his arms. "That's not what I implied! But I don't want that to happen when I'm in the next room."

"Like you and Asami didn't tonight!"

His cheeks flushed a light crimson and he glanced at the wall beside her head. "What? No!"

"Good," she commented.

"Why? You jealous?"

"Yeah, because I still have feelings for you after two years." The girl pulled her knees up to her chest and shared a glance with Bolin.

"Two? I thought it was four?" Bolin asked, completely confused.

"I came back to see you guys and Mako and I reunited and blah blah blah."

The earthbender pouted his lower lip. "Why didn't I know about this?" he said ina sad tone.

Nay shook off Bo's question and turned towards Mako. "The point is, I don't love you."

"Yeah, I believe it by what you said the other night," Mako murmured.

"What?" she screeched, rising from her spot on the bed.

"You know, when we were in the Equalist uniforms and were about to escape and-"

"She doesn't have feelings for you, bro," Bolin interjected, staring at his lap and twiddling his thumbs.

Nayli blinked a few times and grinned contently.

"Because you know her so well," Mako said curtly.

"I know her better than you do," Bolin muttered, still avoiding eye contact with anyone in the room.

"Yeah. I bet you do, Bolin. I bet you do."

"What the hell is your problem?" Nayli asked. "There's no reason to be such a dick to him!"

"You're my problem! I have enough to worry about right now, and I don't need to worry about a girl breaking my little brother's heart just like she broke mine!"

The air in the room turned tense, and it was so quiet they could hear each other's heartbeats. Both Nayli and Bolin tensed up, and stared at Mako dumbfounded.

"What? I said it, okay? You wanted to know why I can't stand you. Well, that's why." The firebender then stepped out of the doorway and slammed the door. His footsteps were heard as he stomped to his room in a blind rage.

* * *

Nay bit her lip and shifted her gaze to the rose-patterned bed sheets.

"Thanks for taking up for me back there," she said, running her fingernails over the soft linen.

Bolin grabbed her hand and squeezed gently. "No problem." He then leaned over to her until their shoulders met. "You don't like him, though, right?"

_Yes. I love him, Bo. But I can't tell you that, because I would rather love you_. "No," she said. "Why do you keep asking?"

"Because... It seems like everyone likes Mako better than me..."

Nayli cupped his cheek and turned his face towards her. "I don't."

Their lips met slowly, carefully. It wasn't a fight for dominance like other kisses she had- but Bolin wasn't like the others. He was gentle and kind. And they worked in perfect sync with each other because of the fact.

Bolin lay her down on the pillows at the top of the bed and crushed her hips in a bruising grasp, his heart was racing and her knee rubbing the bulge in his pants wasn't helping.

The waterbender ran her hands through his hair as he kissed her cheek, then her jaw, then ran his tongue down her neck and lightly nipped at her pulse.

Nay never would have thought in a million years that the adorable, chubby Bolin from four years ago could turn into such a man that held that much power in his body. She certainly never thought that Bolin of all people, her best friend, who she looked to as more of a brother, could cause so many good - and naughty - feelings to bubble up in her chest.

The girl grabbed him by the hair and pulled him up to where their lips met again. He teased her by tracing her lower lip with his tongue, and she couldn't help but giggle when it slipped into her mouth.

"What?" he asked against her lips, ghosting his hands over her thighs.

"It tickles," she replied with a giggle. "But go on."

Bolin grabbed the hem of her long shirt and scanned her face for approval. She nodded her head in agreement and the shirt was over her head and discarded to the floor.

"Um, Bo?" she asked, her voice was filled with doubt.

"What's wrong?" The teen furrowed his eyebrows and tapped her cheek lightly with his thumb.

"I've never... done this before," she leaned up and whispered into his neck.

"All you have to do is tell me what feels good, I'll do the rest."

"Okay..."

"Unless you want to stop, because I wouldn't want to push you-"

"Bo. I can't think of anything I want more." A smile crept onto her lips as if she was waiting for him to make the next move.

As Bolin lowered himself to kiss her neck, his hands teased her nipple through her bindings. His calloused thumb rubbed the nub then lightly twisted it with his fingers.

Nayli's mind swam with delicious pleasure, and her eyelids fluttered closed. Her breath came in short gasps when he unraveled the band and dipped his head down to take the pink nub in his mouth. Her mind kept protesting, showing Mako instead of his little brother who was actually making her feel that way. But deep inside, she _wanted_ it to be the brooding firebender she had grown to love, abd for that, she felt terrible.

"That... that feels good," she gasped, fisting her fingers in his dark hair.

The fire burning between her legs grew, and she had to rub her thighs together to help ease the pressure. Nay tried to push Bolin's head down to where the aching was, but he just pried her hands away and kissed her collarbone.

"You're beautiful," he whispered against the pale skin of her shoulder.

"But I'm not pretty like Korra or Asami. I'm... normal."

"But that's what make you, you."

It was true. Nay didn't have the beauty that Asami had. She didn't have that tom-boyish way about her that made Korra so attractive. The girl had such a pure beauty about her; it was a normal kind of beauty that you couldn't help but fall in love with and be reeled in. Then when you got to know her, you were instantly in love.

Nayli grinned as Bolin pulled back to look at her with admiration in his emerald eyes.

"Even if I don't have huge boobs?"

Bolin glanced down at her chest. "They look pretty big to me."

Nay hummed soundly in response and pressed her warm cheek to his, inhaling his raw scent. She led Bolin's hand to the last piece of clothing covering her body in modest.

The earthbender slipped a hand in her underwear, through her wiry curls, and ran a digit along her silken folds.

"Does that feel good?" he whispered in her ear, his voice suddenly husky. Nayli could only moan in response.

Bolin slipped a finger inside her entrance and felt no hesitation when it slid to the second knuckle.

The teen stopped his movement when realizing what was missing. "Where's your-"

Nay sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I've been knocked around a couple times, so it kinda... broke."

"... Oh."

"... Um, Bo? Can you...?" She squirmed around and thrust her hips up in order to show what she craved.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

He leaned in and sucked on a sensitive patch of flesh under her left ear and resumed the attentions to her core.

"More," she ordered, wrapping her legs around his waist.

_Well, Nay definitely knows what she wants, _Bolin thought to himself as he inserted another finger inside her core. He curled the digits upward, feeling for that small patch of skin that would send her into a frenzy.

The girl's sharp intake of breath was noted by Bolin as he coaxed her walls to tighten around him, massaging a certain spot that she was obviously fond of. He shifted his weight and widened her legs to reach her better.

"Wh - what about you?" Nayli managed to ask through her sharp breathing.

Bolin quirked an eyebrow but then realized what the girl was talking about when she reached through their tangled limbs and massaged the bulge in his pants with her hand.

"I - I'm okay. Let's focus on you first, then we can worry about me," the boy said with a smile, moving her hand away.

He edged his fingers inside her gently for a few strokes, relishing in her tightness and how good it might feel - just him and this beautiful girl finally as one. No Mako, no Korra, none of that Equalist crap he's worried so much about; just him and Nay sharing the most intimate experience two people possibly can. He shivered at the thought - a great kind of shiver.

But for now, he wanted to focus on her; make this experience something special, that only he could give. He wondered if maybe destiny was responsible for all the events that happened. Maybe he wasn't supposed to be with Korra. Maybe the kiss was supposed to happen just so he could make room for the girl under him, shuddering and whimpering because of what he was doing. Destiny is a funny thing, after all.

When Nay scraped her fingernails across his back, Bolin reminded himself that it was him who was doing this to Nay; he was the one making her moan his name and gasp in delight. Mako couldn't give her what he was giving her. He smiled like a giddy little child at the thought.

Then her hips arched to meet his hand, and the earthbender's fingers developed a mind of their own and went at a faster pace, making sure to hit that spot she loved.

Suddenly, Nay gripped his hand and he noticed the gooseflesh covering her arms. Her hazel eyes burned into him and she pulled his hand free before bringing it up to her face and kissing his palm.

"I want you," she whispered against Bolin's hand.

In the heat of the moment, neither of them heard the loud creaking of Mako's bedroom door or the pattering of his footsteps, which stopped right in front of Nay's bedroom. Nor did they hear Mako open the door slightly to peek inside and witness was happening, and about to happen. He quietly edged the door open more and more until his body could fit through the crack.

"Nay?" he asked, entering the room. The firebender's jaw slackened when he suddenly realized what was happening right in front of him.

_Bolin and Nay! They're- No, they couldn't. They wouldn't! But yet they are, and it's happening right in front of you. You like her. But you want Bolin happy, don't you? He looks so happy right now. Yeah, but Mako, she's yours!_

When Nayli lolled her head to the side and saw Mako standing there with such an expression of rage contorting his face, she gasped and pushed Bolin off of her - to both of the teen's distaste.

"What's wr-..." Then Bolin looked over to where her gaze was locked and saw him. "Oh, hey, bro. Didn't- um... Didn't see ya there."

Mako crossed his arms and his eyes turned to slits upon seeing Nay's flushed face, naked chest and soaked... lower... half - which juices Bolin's hand was covered in. "Bolin! What- Your room. Now."

"But-" the latter tried to argue, but was cut off instantly every time.

"Go!" The elder brother pointed a finger to the exit.

"Can't I just-"

"Go..."

"Please-"

"Now!"

Bolin rolled his eyes in irritation as he lifted himself up from the bed, but eventually obeyed his anger-stricken sibling, because he could always come back after Mako went to sleep.

With one last longing gaze to the underwear-clad waterbender, he pouted his lower lip and was out the door and heading to his own room.

Nay pulled the covers over her naked skin to stop the goosebumps that appeared on her body without the warmth of Bolin encasing her. She noticed the disgusted look coming from Mako that was practically ripping at her whole being.

"What?" she hissed, pulling the covers up to her chin.

Mako shut the door quietly but then stomped over to where she was laying on the bed.

"I'm warning you. Don't play him, Nayli. I couldn't stand to see him hurt again," the teen's words were coated in venom and lashed at the fibers in her heart; of what she thought was moral and right.

Nayli could never hurt Bolin.

"As hurt as he was when he saw you kiss the girl he really cared for?" she retorted, the same harshness in her voice he had used.

"Wha - how - how did you know about the kiss?"

"Bolin told me earlier. It's pretty sad really; his own brother getting everything - and everyone - he wants, even though he's obviously the better of you two."

"That's not true-"

"Mako, you ruin everything for him. Just like tonight; it was supposed to be me and him, and you stole even this one moment," Nay explained, each word cutting into Mako like the slow slicing of a knife.

No, that would have been more pleasant than what she was telling him. Because he knew that it was the truth.

Nayli then rolled over to face the cream colored walls and pulled the covers over her still half-nude form.

"You can go on back to Asami now. Even though everyone knows you're just keeping her so you won't hurt the poor girl's feelings."

Mako sat there for a while and just stared in awe at the creature that lay before him under the thick bed sheets.

What the hell had he gotten himself in to?

* * *

As the butler sat down a large plate of otter bacon, Asami unfolded her table napkin and placed it in her lap. Nayli raised an eyebrow in confusion and raised the white thing, but copied the non-bender's actions with pursed lips.

_So _that's _what this white towel thing is used for,_ Nayli thought to herself. She patted her napkin-covered lap triumphantly. A street rat was _finally_ learning proper table etiquette!

"So, how did everyone sleep last night?" Hiroshi asked, placing his arms on the table.

An awkward silence loomed over the three benders and they shared a convicted glance.

"I think we all slept better now that Mako and Nay got back," Bolin said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Asami agreed. "Hey, Nayli?"

Nay glanced up from gathering a piece of bacon and hummed in response.

"Did you ever find your sister?"

"Yes, where is that sister of yours everyone's talked about?" Hiroshi chimed in.

"... She - she was kidnapped by Amon." The waterbender lowered her head and played with the eggs on her plate.

"Oh, that's terrible, Nayli. I'm so sorry," Mr. Sato said with a disapproving click of his tongue. He rose from his seat and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I know you'll find her, though, and if there's anything I can do... Just ask." With a small smile, Hiroshi retreated from the dining room with his plate of food, leaving four teenagers to an awkward silence.

Bolin cleared his throat and looked at the faces of his friends. "So, how about this food?"

Another awkward silence.

Asami glanced over to the girl across from her. "Ya know, Nay, after breakfast, I have a couple outfits for you to try on since yours are too-"

"No, now. I'm done anyways." The younger girl threw her napkin on her plate and pushed her chair under the table.

"But you barely-" Mako started, but was cut off when Nayli hit the back of his head on her way out of the room, Asami following her.

"... And then there were two..." Bolin announced, flicking his eyes from his brother to the plate sitting in front of him.

The two brothers ate in silence for a little bit before Mako lightly slammed a fist on the table, causing Bolin to flinch.

"We have to talk about last night some time, Bo," the firebender declared.

Bolin shrugged his shoulders and scooted his eggs around the plate with his fork. "There's nothing to talk about."

Mako laughed dryly. "There's everything to talk about. Like, where your relationship stands with her."

"We haven't talked about that. Besides, I already told her this morning that I'm still getting over Korra."

"And she's fine with it?"

"... Yeah. Why wouldn't she be?"

"She seems to really like you." Bolin could hear a tinge of sadness lace his brother's voice and he looked up at Mako, his mouth filled with eggs.

"Really?" Bolin asked excitedly, his words barely audible through the food.

"Yeah," Mako sighed, gathering his plate.

Yakoza rushed in out of nowhere and snatched the plate from Mako's hands with a nod of her head, before retreating through the doorway to the kitchen.

"I swear, I think she's a magician. Like, a real life magician. How else does she know to swoop in when we need something?" Bolin whispered to the golden-eyed boy from across the table.

"Whatever you say, Bo," Mako said with a small smile. "But we are gonna have that talk today, so don't think I'll forget."

* * *

"Ya know, Asami, I thought you were kinda stuck up when I first saw you," Nayli admitted, locking eyes with the non-bender in the floor-length mirror.

Asami chuckled. "Don't worry, everyone says that."

"But I realize you're... actually pretty awesome!" Nay blurted the words out of her mouth before she could realize what she was saying.

The girl paused. Did she really just say that? After all, Asami gave her an amazing place to stay and just recently new clothes. New, pretty, fancy, _expensive_ clothes. So yeah, Nay's first impression of Asami was completely wrong. And she felt bad.

"Oh, um... thanks!" Asami walked over to Nay standing in front of her reflection and brushed the bender's hair behind her shoulders. "You look alot better with this outfit instead of those old clothes."

"Yeah, the blue's pretty," Nay commented, fingering the loose bottom of her tunic.

Asami dressed her in a sleeveless blue tunic with black and white stitching that curved from her back to rest over her right breast, in the shape of a fire lily. The neckline came just under her neck and the three shirt clasps were above her chest in a slanted line. Dressed over that was a thin white coat that just passed her butt. Loosely fitting cotton pants darkly contrasted with the white, and knee-high black boots with buckles on the side topped off the outfit.

"You look beautiful," Asami said, running her fingers through Nay's long hair.

The bender turned to face her friend with worry crossing her features. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"No, really! Everything looks better on you anyways," Asami argued.

For a second, Nayli wanted reach forward and hug the girl that was being so kind to her for no reason. And when she thought about, her and Asami were kinda the same; they both helped someone who needed it. Well - as much as one could.

"Thank you," Nayli whispered, bowing her head. "For everything."

* * *

"Well, it seems like you guys are having fun," Korra pointed out and crossed her arms.

Nay dove under the pool water from where she was sitting beside Asami and swam to the other side, where Korra was standing.

"The most!" Bolin told the Avatar, suddenly appearing beside Nayli and placing his arms on the tiled floor.

Nay didn't see Bo shift his arm and reach around to tickle her side until it happened.

"Aah!" she screamed, jumping out of the water. When she looked back, Bolin was floating in the middle of the pool with his arms tucked behind his head and a smug grin on his face. "Damn it, Bo!"

Nayli leaped in the pool on top of Bolin and they both disappeared under the blue water.

Korra, who watched the scene unfold said, "Seems like they're really getting along, huh?" She winked.

"Too bad," Mako grumbled under his breath as he and Asami swam towards Korra.

Bolin and Nayli rose from the water in front of the couple, and the Nay lifted herself on Bo's shoulders. He grabbed her waist behind his head and tossed her off of him. Nay bumped into Mako when landing in the water and almost elbowed him in the face when she turned around.

"Sorry," she said through tiny giggles.

The girl adjusted her swimsuit top by straightening out the chest and pulling the bottom down to cover her stomach like it originally had.

Nay swam around Mako and jumped on his head to push him underwater. It felt like good revenge, which looked harmless to Asami and Korra, but Mako knew why she did it; it wasn't just playing anymore. Asami chuckled when her boyfriend dunked under the water a second before reappearing and making a beeline towards Nay.

"No, Mako! Don't you dare!" Nay warned, kicking her feet behind her to try and get away. As she reached the floor and was lifting herself up, Mako grabbed her thigh and pulled her back in the water. Of course they would make a harmless game into something out of anger.

"Oh, no you don't!" Bolin yelled as he swam over to his brother and friend. "I will save you, sweet Nay!" He pulled her arm and pushed her away from Mako before throwing her over his shoulder in a hero-like fashion. Bolin was aware of how tense Mako and Nay were towards each other lately, and frankly, he was too. The earthbender also understood the "game" and decided to play.

"Prince Bolin," the waterbender gushed. "You have come to my rescue!"

"You guys are crazy," Korra chuckled from her seat on the floor.

"You don't have to live with 'em," Asami added, as she watched the three benders wrestle around. It earned her a "hey!" from each of them.

"Okay, guys, we really need to do something today," Nayli declared after Bolin set her down, sweeping the wet hair out of her face. "Let's go out into town. I don't care if we just walk for three hours."

"That could be fun," Korra said, pouting her lower lip.

"Wait, I know what we could do," Nay said, climbing out of the water. She adjusted her bottoms that were giving her an uncomfortable wedgie. The girl was becoming more comfortable around her new friends and came to the conclusion that she didn't have to be so obtuse all the time. Her personality was just something she had picked up as a survival mechanism to ward off strangers. "Asami took Mako, Bolin and I to this pretty cool race track where they tested the new satomobiles. It's fun to test run the satomobiles and kick major ass in the process."

"And trust me, Korra," the Sato girl added, "if she can do it, anybody can."

"Hey, no fair!"

"... Weeeeell," Korra drawled.

Nay sighed and crossed her arms, the attitude beginning to come back. "It's either that or makeovers."

"I vote makeovers!" Bolin chimed as he raised an arm in the air and dunked Mako under the water.

* * *

As Korra and Asami drove the testee satomobile around the race track, Bolin, Mako and Nayli were stuck in the stands.

"Sooooo..." Bolin said, naturally breaking the silence, like he had been doing a lot lately.

Nay leaned against his shoulder and draped his arm around her, playing with his hand. The earthbender blushed and glanced awkwardly at his brother from the corner of his eyes. Mako was pissed. Bolin could just tell. He knew his older sibling well.

"You know, Nayli," Mako hissed. "If you're trying to make me jealous, it's not working."

"Why would you be jealous? You have two girls down there that you could get in your bed any time you want." Bolin had to stifle a laugh at his friend's snarky comeback.

"See, this is why we can never get along!" Mako threw his arms up in the air, fire licking his palms.

Bolin pouted his lower lip. "What did Nay do?"

"This! She's turning us against each other, bro! We weren't like this until the succubus came along."

Nayli raised up from her seat and whirled towards the firebender. "Excuse me! You seemed to have forgotten that little incident with Korra-"

"Guys!" Said-Avatar called from the bottom of the bleachers. "Let's go!"

Nay growled furiously. When she stalked down the steps, both Mako and Bolin noticed water appearing out of nowhere and slashing the air behind her. Bolin followed Nay down the steps and grabbed ahold of her wrists, informing her of what she was accidentally doing.

"Bo, what are _you_ doing?" Mako muttered under his breath. He couldn't believe that his little brother was pretty much falling for Nayli. And so was he. Again. "I won't hurt you. Not over a girl. Not this time," he promised; but forgot the statement fell upon deaf ears, seeing as Bolin couldn't even hear him.

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" Nay yelled to the ceiling. "Why can't we go down there?"

The officer watching the four teens folded his hands behind his back. "Chief gave me strict orders-"

"I don't give two shits about what Chief Bei Fong said."

"Nay!" Bolin said to the fuming girl. "Calm down, please?"

"I can't calm down! What if everyone is in trouble?"

"No, my dad would never hurt anyone," Asami interjected.

"Your father included." Nay then motioned to the three. "But I have an idea."

"What now?" Mako grumbled, earning a light elbow in the ribs from the Sato girl.

"We need to distract him," Nay whispered once they were all huddled together. "Any ideas?"

"I know exactly how," Mako answered.

* * *

"C'mon guys, let's go," Mako said, lifting Korra onto his back.

_Yeah, of course he would choose Korra_, Nay thought, rolling her eyes.

Bolin took Tenzin, and she got the Chief, who was extremely heavy with all that armor on. She could barely pick her up.

"Oh, how cute. You've come to rescue your friends," Hiroshi said from the shadows, taunting the three. Some weird machines were housed with chi-blockers behind him, and there Equalists on the ground as well.

Nay shook her head in disbelief. "After everything - sponsoring the Fire Ferrets, helping Korra. It was all a trick!"

"You forgot having to watch my daughter tramp around with that... Street rat friend of yours."

"If he is, I am too!" The waterbender dropped Lin to the ground and stepped forward. "And I don't know how a sweet, caring girl like Asami could come from such an evil man like you!"

Hiroshi's eyes widened and he bared his teeth. "How dare you! It's benders like you who need to know their place! ... It's just too bad your poor little sister had to suffer because of what you are."

Nayli wanted to rip the fucker's head off his shoulders when he mentioned Yuri, but stopped and thought for a second. This man was not worth her feelings. She would not give him the satisfaction of bending his body out the window - if there were any - and proving how true he was. She would not bend at all. She would not!

Instead she growled under her breath and took a few steps forward, her face contorted into a menacing gaze. "Where the hell did you take her! Wh - what... What did you do with her? I swear if you hurt her, I - I -"

The girl wasn't expecting hot tears to well over her eyes and race down her cheeks, or that she would fall to her knees and practically grovel at his feet. She just wanted to see her sister again.

"So sad to see such a strong bender like you fall apart at the mention of something so small. I'm terribly sorry." Hiroshi pointed his electric glove right at her face and looked her right in the eye. She almost saw a hint of sorrow flicker in his eyes before he opened the glove and shocked her.

The electricity flowed through the fibers in her muscles like a million needles stabbing her skin. Nay's breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened in shock as she was paralyzed. She felt voices calling her name, but the words were muffled in her ears. A strangled cry escaped her throat and she fell onto her side.

"Dad, stop!" Asami yelled from behind Hiroshi, appearing out of nowhere.

The shocked man turned towards the voice and lowered his glove. His eyes widened when he saw his little girl standing there. "Asami... I - I tried to keep you out of this as long as I could," Hiroshi explained guiltily, a few dark hairs falling in his face.

Nayli's body trembled from the aftershock and her muscles flexed on their own accord, causing her fingers to spasm and her toes to curl. She breathed deeply, the feeling of sweet air filling her lungs.

She felt a hand roll her onto her back and saw that it was Mako when she finally opened her eyes.

"It's okay," he whispered into her ear, lifting her in his arms. "I'm so sorry."

Nay then tuned back in to the events that were happening.

"Join me," Mr. Sato told his daughter. He took off one of his gloves and held it out towards her.

Asami took slow, weary steps towards her father. When she reached him, she grabbed the glove and slipped it on her own hand.

For a second she just stood there, staring at the contraption. "I love you, Dad," she told him. Asami pointed her hand towards him and turned her head away, the electricity coursing through his body. He fell to the ground in a heap, unconscious.

* * *

Nayli was sitting in the corner of Chief's airship, her arms curling around her knees.

She was absolutely exhausted from the events of the day. And yet the girl still had the drive to find her sister. Since they had fled the Sato Estate, that voice in her head kept telling her that all of it was her fault. Nay was supposed to protect her sister from the evil of the world, yet she felt like she was the evil.

She heard footsteps approach her but didn't look up to see who they belonged to.

"Hey, Nayli?" It was Asami. She felt the older girl sit down beside her. "I'm sorry about what my father did to you. And what he said wasn't true. It's not your fault that your sister got kidnapped. If anything, you're an amazing big sister. Just seeing how upset you've been over her, well, it's a relief. At least I know someone cares about their family." The bender knew that the last sentence was directed towards Asami's father.

Nay looked over to the girl sitting beside her. Her bottom lip quivered and a whimper escaped her lips as she leaned into the pretty girl's shoulder, the tears falling angrily.

"Thank you," she said through her cries. "For everything."

* * *

**A/N: So, how about that smut? Jeez, I need to learn how to write it better. Yes, a first-time smut writer, but this chapter was calling me to this direction. I think it was needed to bring up some unexplained feelings. And I am so proud of this long chapter. Almost 7,000 words! I am sorry. I got carried away.**

**SPOILER ALERT: Korra finale today? I cried so hard. I was bawling. What did you guys think? I thought the Makorra kiss was REALLY mellow-dramatic and it seemed REALLY forced to me. But everything so FUCKING PERFECT. How is this a kids' show? Two character deaths! At least Bryke made another series, so I ain't complaining. **

**Also I want to thank everyone for all the reviews. I appreciate it so much and I'm really glad people like this story so much. Qkdjdjsk. Come on, bring it in! /Huggggs.**

**I still don't know who I ship Nay with. Ship names. Nayko? Boli? Naysami? Korrali? Naybu? (Wait, what?) I have no fucking idea, dude. xD**

**Welp, I think that's it. Tell me what you think about this chapter and what you thought of the Korra finale! **

**Until next time! Thanks, guys! :D**


	5. Chapter 5: The Weight on Her Shoulders

**Warning: Cough, cough. Dream smut is ahead. In italics. Do whatever you want. Just warning you beforehand, but it develops the plot more, since it opens Nay's mind to sort out her feelings. That is all. **

* * *

Yong and Nayli walked into a small café across the road from the ferry rides, where the girl needed to be in an hour to meet her friends and move to Air Temple Island.

"After you," Yong said, motioning to a small table in the far corner of the restaurant. A large window replaced the wall beside the table to shed in warm sunlight, juxtaposed to the wintery weather.

Yong scooted the seat out for Nay to sit down, then placed her back under the table before sitting down himself.

"Aren't you such a gentleman," Nay teased him, leaning her face on her palm.

"Well, I had to treat you like I would a female stranger since I haven't seen you in - what, two weeks?"

The younger girl sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry. But Asami wouldn't let me leave the house."

"Wait, you were kidnapped!"

"No!" Nayli chuckled at how dramatically Yong reacted. "She just thought it would be a good idea for us to keep inside so nothing happened to us." She then thought of her and Mako getting kidnapped by the Equalists. Wouldn't want that happening again...

"Excuse me." Both waterbenders looked to the voice and saw their waitress standing there patiently, pen and pad in hand. "Welcome to Hahn's Cafe, my name is Miku and I'll be your waitress today. What can I get you guys?"

"I just want a cup of ginseng tea," Yong told Miku, pecking his knuckles on the light wood of the table.

The waitress turned to Nayli; her pen scribbled along the paper. "And you?"

"I'll have what he's having."

"Okay. I'll be back in a second." Miku then walked off towards the back of the cafe.

"Hey, Yong? Can I ask you something?" Nayli scratched the back of her head and cleared her throat.

"Sure, what is it?" Yong replied.

"Well, I have two boy friends that I kinda... sorta... both like. And I fooled around with one of 'em, but he doesn't know I like his brother, and I feel like I need to just spit it out and tell both of them how I feel," Nay blurted the words out of her mouth before she even thought about what she was saying.

Yong lowered his head in irritation and glared at her from between the long bangs of his brown hair, his best dissaproved face on. "Really, Nay? Two _brothers_? And you fooled around with one of them?"

"I know, I know. So, what should I do? Spit it out or just suck it up and swallow it?"

"Why are you asking me this?" Yong cocked an eyebrow.

Nay buried her face in her hands. "Because, you're my only other guy friend besides them and I need a guy's point of view."

"So, you want me to tell you what I would want my girl to do?"

"Yes!" Nay exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Swallow, definitely. Guys like girls who swallow. It makes them feel accepted," Yong explained to the girl. He rubbed his goatee and stared off into the space behind her. "Or just do whatever you're comfortable with. If a guy really likes you, he'll accept your decision."

Nayli averted her eyes away from her friend and fidgeted in her chair. "Um... I don't think we're talking about the same thing here."

"What?... Oh... OH!" He laughed nervously. "You were talking about feelings, weren't you? Yeah, I wasn't listening..."

Miku walked out of the kitchen with two cups and stepped over to their table. "Here's your tea, guys," the waitress said, placing the drinks in front of them.

"Thanks," the waterbenders replied simultaneously.

"Sooo," the man started, holding a hand over the cup and stirring his tea with his bending. "Who are the two lucky guys?"

"Mako and Bolin," Nay said purposely mid-cough. "You probably don't know 'em, though."

"Actually I know Mako. We used to run numbers together." He took a sip of the drink. "He's... pretty cool. Not to mention his skills at pro-bending. The dude's a beast."

_Fuck, Yong, you're not helping!_

"Yeah... Wh - what do you think of Bolin?" Nay asked her friend, bringing the small mug to her painted lips - courtesy of Asami.

Yong leaned back against his chair and leaned an arm on top of the back. "Eh, I've never met the boy. He seems nice-"

"He's extremely sweet and caring!"

"... I'm guessing he's the one who got to fuck you?"

"No! We - we didn't get that far. Mako walked in on us..."

Yong suddenly broke out into a fit of laughter and slammed a fist on the table. "Holy fuck! That's the best thing I've ever heard!"

"It was embarrassing-"

"Yeah, for Mako. I couldn't imagine seeing my little bro gettin' busy with some girl."

Nay rolled her eyes and kicked his shin under the table; too bad she missed. She then looked out the large glass window and turned her attention towards the waves of Yue Bay, rocking back and forth in a slow and steady rhythm.

The girl heard Yong shift across from her and he abruptly sat beside her, almost knocking her backwards off her chair. He opened up his coat and revealed the sleeping puma kitten named Margo. Nayli gasped and covered her mouth with her palm.

"She's okay!" Nay laughed, reaching into his inside coat pocket to pet the sleeping cat.

Margo leaned into her owner's hand when she scratched her chin, then behind her ears, then rubbed atop Margo's head with the pads of her fingers. The kitten purred contently.

"Such a good, good girl," Nay cooed quietly, running her fingers through the kitten's long, black fur.

"I've kept her all this time," Yong informed the girl.

He then examined Nayli. He noticed her face was still rounded out and she still had those large hazel eyes, but there was something... different about her; Yong couldn't put his finger on it.

Maybe it was her lips painted that beautiful rose color or the blush on her cheeks that made her look so... pretty. He hadn't really noticed how long her eyelashes were until now, with the eyeshadow bringing it to attention; or how full her lips were.

Actually, Yong hadn't noticed her at all, besides just being a really good friend. But every girl could look like a goddess with a little makeup. Nay was just one of them that went from normal to beautiful with just a little lipstick, powder, eyeshadow and blush. She was nothing _really_ special, even though she did look pretty. He would always want her to be just his best friend. She probably looked at it the same way.

But he didn't have to wonder why Bolin wanted to get with her.

"You look gorgeous," Yong whispered.

Nay peeked up at him through her eyelashes. "You're real funny."

"I'm serious! I bet all the girls in here are so jelly; with you being with me and all."

Nayli chuckled and returned her attention back towards Margo. He actually used the word 'jelly'; but Yong had invented it and taught her what it meant. "Are you implying that we're on a date?"

"No! You're my best friend, nothing more."

"Nothing more," Nay agreed. "So, how gorgeous do I actually look?"

"Eh, a little gorgeous."

"You are such a dick!" She punched his arm playfully.

"Well, I mean, that makeup sure does miracles."

"Yong!"

"Okay, okay. You look gorgeous. And what's with the fancy outfit? Are you getting dressed up for the brothers?"

"No! I want to look pretty when the brothers, Asami and I move to Air Temple Island in a few minutes."

"Wait- you and the brothers are moving... Hold up- Asami Sato? Like, Hiroshi Sato's daughter?" Yong leaned towards Nay with large eyes.

"Yep," the girl affirmed, nodding her head.

"She's so hot! You're hanging out with some high-class people! Damn, what are you still doing here with me?"

"You're my best friend, Yong. I would never leave you!"

Nayli pulled Yong into a friendly embrace and kissed him on the cheek. Of course, he saw her three friends walk into the cafe without warning and wave her over just before.

He pulled back from her hug and stood up, reaching for her hand.

"Your friends are here," he whispered into her ear when she rose.

Nay looked around the cafe and saw them walking towards her; Mako looked really pissed, Bolin looked depressed, and Asami was smiling and waving at her.

"Hey, guys!" the female waterbender said when they approached the table.

"Hey, Nay! We've been looking for you," Asami told her with a smile.

"Is it really that late for you guys to have to look for me?"

"It's a quarter after noon," Yong said, looking at the watch on his wrist.

Nay gasped. "I am so sorry, guys! Yong and I got to talking and then we started petting my cat..."

"Her puma cat, Margo! Not... not her-"

"They get it."

"Yeah..."

The three teens stared at Nay and her guy friend in confusion.

"So, who is he?" Mako snapped, his eyes examining the fellow. "Your boyfriend?"

The two waterbenders quickly stepped away from each other with a disgusted look on their faces and folded their hands behind their backs.

"Wha... No. Yong and I are best friends. We've lived on the streets together for years," Nay explained slowly, eyeing the firebender.

Mako then relaxed and Bolin perked his head up, speaking. "Thank the spirits! I thought you guys were together!"

Yong and Nay shared a hearty laugh. "Never," they both agreed.

"Hey, Yong looks familiar. Does he look familiar to you, bro?" Bolin asked his brother, rubbing his chin in thought.

"We used to run numbers together a few years back," Mako told the earthbender.

"... Oh, yeah! I remember now... Actually, I don't. I don't recall being there."

"You weren't," Yong interjected. "It was just Mako and I."

_These are the guys Nay likes so much?_ Yong chuckled to himself.

"Okaaaaaay. We really need to go, Yong," Nay told her friend, clapping her hands together.

"But we just started talking," Yong complained. He wrapped his arms around Nay's shoulders and leaned his cheek on her head.

"I know, Yongy, but Korra's gonna kill us if we don't get there soon." Nay patted his back as she hugged him back.

"Okay, fine. I wouldn't wanna keep you from the Avatar."

The girl walked over to meet her friends and stood between Asami and Bolin, who wrapped an arm around her waist. The group turned to leave the restaurant and made it to the door before a hand caught her wrist and spun her around.

"Don't forget Margo." Yong reached into his long coat and pulled out the kitten from his pocket, handing it to the girl.

"Thanks."

"See ya later, stranger."

Nay laughed and turned to wave at him, then left the cafe and boarded their boat with a nervous ache in her stomach.

* * *

The scraping of metal against metal awoke Yuri from her deep sleep. She raised her head and examined the room she was in. A completely metal room - of course - that was at least twice as large as her previous cell was filled with nothing but a steel chair bolted to the floor, which she was strapped in to.

"Time to wake up, little girl." Amon's voice reverberated off the walls and rung in her ears.

Yuri struggled against her bindings to cower away from the man, ignoring the chafing of her wrists against the leather.

"Where's my sister?" she asked, trepidation stressing her voice.

A set of fingers lightly brushed her cheek, then slipped down to her wrist and tinkered with the clasp binding them.

"Your sister," he stopped to chuckle, "she has left you, dear Yuri."

The girl lowered her head in defeat and choked on a whimper. "She would never leave me. You're a mean liar!"

"Well then, where is she?" As Amon spoke, he lazily unbound her wrists.

No. Amon was lying. He was a nasty man who hated people like her. Nayli would be there to rescue her any minute. Yuri knew it.

She paused in the chair for a second to process that she was _actually_ free. Yuri hopped up and bolted for the steel door; she reached the handle before she was snatched up by her waist and thrown to the floor like a rag doll.

"Silly little girl. You really think I would let you go that easily?" The masked man had a mocking smirk mar his lips, invisible to everyone in the room. "You're the bait..."

* * *

The boat thing was a terrible idea. Plain and simple.

Every time a wave would rock the boat, Nayli's stomach would lurch with the movement of the ship. She didn't know whether to throw up or crawl into a corner and sob.

It reminded the waterbender of such good memories; just her, Yuri and their parents. Not a care in sight.

Since she could remember, every Friday, her mother and father would rent a boat with the money they won from their pro-bending matches and float the family around Yue Bay.

It was where Nay learned she could waterbend, and where her father taught the girls how to fish, and where their mother would teach her waterbending. They celebrated birthdays and holidays all on the water she was treading right now. All on the same boat for years; up until the Friday that they passed away.

Nayli choked on a sob that had risen in her throat and lowered her head to rest on the railing. She missed them so much and hated the water - the same element in which she held such a strong connection with, yet she felt closer to them now than she had in years. It was bittersweet.

Nay curled her fingers around the railing, causing her knuckles to turn a stark white, oddly matching the color of her face.

She felt a light hand caress her shoulder and she instinctively tensed, then relaxed when it shifted lower to rub her back in slow motions. Nay didn't attempt to turn and see who it was that touched her. The hand still stayed there, comforting her in more ways than any one word could.

"I miss them so much," she managed to choke out, without releasing the impending sobs burning her throat.

"I know." Nay turned to the owner of the hand and buried her face in their chest, finally letting the cries break the surface at the sound of his voice - the last person she expected to comfort her.

Mako.

She thought he had hated her. Ever since that night with Bolin, he had been extremely distant, spending less and less time with her and Bo. It hurt both of them. After all, you can't choose who you love; she just happened to love two people.

Her immediate thoughts drifted to Asami, the girl she had only known for a few weeks, yet both felt like they had known each other for years. Nay didn't want to hurt her feelings. The girl was too damn sweet.

How Korra didn't like Asami, Nayli would never know. But boys - Mako - destroy relationships, even before they even begin.

Nay snapped out of her thoughts when she felt two other hands on her back - one welcoming and calloused, the other calm and soft.

There was a long, comfortable silence; the only thing heard were Nay's muffled whimpers and everyone's breathing.

"I'm okay," the crying girl finally whispered, her tears finally slowing down.

When she left Mako's embrace, Bolin pulled her in for another immediate hug.

She always thought he gave the best hugs. Probably from the fact that Nay felt completely safe in his arms, which engulfed and shielded her - just like his whole body compared to hers.

"It's okay, Nay. I'm here for you," Bolin assured her, lifting her face up to place a deep kiss on her lips. She wasn't neccesarily uncomfortable with him kissing her like that - it was actually kind of sweet how he showed her such affection in front of everyone - she just didn't lean into the kiss and lead him on, or rather seem like she was.

Mako clenched his fists, the embers in the pit of his stomach aching to spark light to his palms. He saw Bolin kiss her. His little brother deliberately kissed Nay in front of him, even though she was clearly all for his hug earlier. Bolin might as well have punched him in the damn face.

"_We_," Mako rudely corrected, placing a hand on Bolin's shoulder and easing him backwards, away from Nay.

"You two are just adorable," Asami said smugly. She wrapped an arm around her boyfriend's waist.

"Aren't we though?" Bolin replied with a bright smile aimed at Nayli.

"Keep up this flattery, and you'll get more than just a kiss." Nay winked at Bolin as they approached the docks, tons of - very dirty - thoughts racing through the earthbender's mind.

While Asami chuckled at the entertaining sight before her, Mako rolled his eyes and he internally yelled every curse word known to man. But on the outside, the poker face was his best weapon against Nay and his brother's attacks.

"Is that a promise, Nay?" Bolin asked her as they got off the boat.

"Damn straight!"

* * *

_Nay bit her lip in satisfaction to keep from screaming at the top of her lungs. What they were doing was completely forbidden at the island, especially with her at the boy's side, but damn, it felt too good; with her cycle being over, the moon was wreaking havoc on her desires tonight._

_The way his lips parted her like the blooming of a flower, how the muscles of his shoulders flexed with his every movement, the swirls he made with his tongue against the nub at her core's base; everything was amazing. No,_ he_ was amazing._

_Mako's tongue stroked her insides raw while his hands worked away at the small bundle of flesh Bolin had told him that girls liked._

_Nay had to bite the heel of her palm to muffle the sounds she just wasn't able to hold in, which were growing in numbers the more this progressed._

_He pulled out for a second to kiss the inside of her thigh, showing a small trace of light stretch marks from her rapid loss of weight the in last couple of months - Nay was struggled to keep food in her sister's mouth, let alone her own. From there, he resumed his attentions, lightly humming as he pleased her._

_Nayli threw her head against the pillows and Mako couldn't help but notice the beautiful arch in the small of her back when she was in the throws of passion._

_He shrugged her legs off his shoulders and kissed his way up to her face, positioning himself at her entrance. She wrapped her legs around his back and urged him forward with a buck of her hips._

_He eased himself into her with a slow, deliberate thrust, causing her to curse under her breath and dig at his back. Mako was large and hot inside her; his heat traveled from his length to her core to engulf her whole body._

_"Yes," she hissed, absentmindedly tightening her walls around him._

_He buried his face into her pale shoulder as he pulled out and thrust himself back inside her, a little more aggressively than last time._

_Then he pumped into her at an achingly slow place, and she buried her face in his shoulder to keep from making too many noises._

_"Ow," Mako groaned from above her. "Why the hell did you bite me?"_

_Nay winced when he suddenly thrust into her harder, digging his nails in her hips._

_"Your fault." She met his thrusts with her own, sweat dotting her brow._

_When the firebender halted his motions, Nay looked to where their bodies entwined and raked her eyes up his body to rest on his face._

_"I thought I heard someone," Mako whispered to the girl below him. He glanced around for a second, motioning for her to be quiet when she started to protest._

_When no noises were heard, he rocking into her shallowly, pulling her body against his; both of them were sweat slick._

_"Harder," she commanded, her voice wavering slightly._

_His thrusts then picked up the pace, and soon enough she found herself being pressed into the bed when his length rammed vigorously into her; a molten hot pressure built up from between her thighs as she was about to reach her peak, when she felt an unknown presence shake her shoulders._

_"Wake uuuuuuup!" a voice said from above her, which obviously did not belong to Mako, who was still focusing on their... activity with a focused look plastered to his face. His voice sounded nothing like this one, anyways; it sounded more like Bolin._

* * *

Nay aroused slowly from her sleep with a protesting groan.

"Come on, Nay. Breakfast is ready," Bolin told her. He shook her again, like somehow that would hasten the pace of the wheels in her mind starting to click and turn as she was becoming aware of her surroundings.

Nay silently cursed herself. This was the third night in a row she had that dream about Mako. She was trying so hard to move on from him - to not love him, but it seemed like at every corner, she was always being told how amazing he was, or he would leave her hanging with the things he did and said. It made her question herself about letting him go. Was her brain trying to tell her something? Did she not want to stop loving him?

She laughed crazily to herself. If she had chosen whether or not to be in this damned predicament, let's just say Nay wouldn't say yes...

* * *

Nay sat at the table of some seedy bar she had found tucked away in the city. Mako, Asami and Bolin sat at the same table she was at in the far corner of the bar, wanting no part in what she was doing here. Korra, of course, was sitting right beside her, Yong on the other side of her.

Nay thought that maybe a night out drinking would help ease her feelings of guilt and shame over letting her sister fall into the clutches of those monsters. She'd had nightmares every night since they had left the Sato mansion - after her dreams of Mako - of what they could possibly be doing to her innocent baby sister. As if things got any worse, her parents were always there in the background, being burned alive in their cell. She heard their yells for her help, and it was always result in her killing her sister, parents, and everyone else in the room - including herself - with a few slices of her arms.

At the thought, she downed another cup of her fire whiskey, being cautiously eyed by Mako.

Like hell Nay would ever tell anyone about her dreams. She had to be strong - for not just everyone else, but for herself. It was an 'out of sight, out of mind' thing.

A man suddenly walked over to her table and sat down two large beers, some of the drink spilling over the side. She eagerly took it and downed half of it before he could speak. "Okay, let's make a deal," the seedy civilian that had approached her said. He had a long, shaggy beard and tattoos covering his sleeveless arms.

"You got it, old man," Nay chuckled, folding her arms across her chest and leaning back against her chair.

"You, me, a drinking contest. If I win, I get that nice ass of yours," the old man said with a wink, chugging a little of his drink. Nayli looked undeterred. The alcohol was making her too brave.

"And if I win..." She raised both eyebrows and leaned forward on the table to rest on her arms. "I get that nice bike of yours."

The man smirked, leaning all-too closely to her face, the smell of alcohol wafting in her nostrils as he talked.

"You got a deal, sweet ass. I'll go get the drinks." The tattoed man stalked off towards the bar.

"What the hell are you thinking, Nay?" Mako hissed from across the table.

"I'm with Mako on this one," Korra added.

"Actually," Yong interceded, "Nay's the best fucking drinker I've ever seen. She's handles it better than any guy I've met."

"She agreed to have... to do... it with a stranger," Mako deadpanned awkwardly, unsure of what words he felt comfortable to use. "An obvious pervert at that."

"Stop worrying about me," Nay chided with a wave of her hand. Her voice wavered slightly, even though she was on her... ninth shot of fire whiskey? "I just need to get my mind off some stuff, guys. Please?"

Mako grabbed Nay's hand on the table. "No, we need to-"

"Here ya go, pretty lady." The tattoo guy was suddenly back and plopping a tray of shots in front of Nay. She hurriedly gulped down three of them.

"Actually," Mako stepped in front of the man to shield Nay, "we were leaving." He grabbed the tipsy girl's forearm and started to drag her away when another hand caught her other arm.

"Listen, you little fucker! I paid for all these drinks, and they're not gonna go to waste! I'm getting some ass tonight if it's the last thing I do, and some little street rat like you isn't gonna stop me." The man rammed Mako in the chest with his shoulder and the firebender fell backwards onto his back ungracefully. The tattoo guy's arm muscles tensed under his skin as he pulled Nay by the waist, away from her friends.

This was just the thing the waterbender had in mind; it distracted her from the guilt that had boiled in her gut for the past few weeks, and instead replaced it with a fuzzed over sense of fear.

"Where are you taking me?" Nay asked the seedy man that roughly dragged her out the back of the bar and into the alley.

"Like I said to that buddy of yours - I'm getting some ass tonight," he sneered, fiercely pushing her against the wall. "Now take off those clothes and let me see that-"

A pillar of earth shot out of the ground sent him flying into the street before he could finish his sentence. Bolin ran towards her, Mako following on his heels.

The girl sunk to the ground and, isntead of crying like group thought, looked over to Bolin and cackled.

"That was fucking hilarious," Nay swore, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye. "Now let's go back inside. My buzz is wearing off."

"The hell we are!" Everyone was surprised when Bolin actually cussed. He just wasn't the type to use expletives ever, instead using a more passive approach. "Something could have really happened to you, and if it did, I don't know what I would have done with myself."

"You're not the only one worried about her, you know." Mako rudely stepped between his brother and the waterbender.

"Stop. Both of you. You guys are," hiccup, "butting heads all the time. You two were never like this, even when you were little." Nayli sighed and turned to Mako, almost losing her footing. "I don't if you're jealous of what happened between me and Bolin, but knock it off with the 'leading me on' thing! Fuck, Mako, I'm trying so hard to lose my feelings just like you wanted, like I need to, and it's hard when you're constantly around me; worrying about this and that, comforting me, touching me, talking to me!" She summoned some water from the air and slicked the brick building as she seethed. "I have enough to worry about with my sister but this is too much. I - I don't know what you want from me."

Mako held up a hand to silence her, realizing that the alcohol was finally kicking in. "Nayli, stop! You're drunk. You don't know what the hell you're-"

"Don't interrupt me!" she warned, the air suddenly becoming filled with thousand of small water droplets. "I don't know what the fuck you want from me! I try to be nice to you, but you just push me away and force me into Bolin's arms. Then you see both of us happy and decide, 'Hey, I now really like Nay. I'm jealous. Let me just ruin her happiness and lead her on just like I am Asami and Korra'!"

The waterbender turned on her heel to face her friends and aimed the droplets at Mako after freezing them into sharp daggers. He stumbled backwards as they flew towards him and suddenly stopped inches from his face. They turned back to their original property and fell to the ground, soaking him in the process.

Mako looked up at Nay just like everyone else as tears fell down her cheeks and she started backing away.

"I wish I didn't love you, I really do. But I - I can't help it!" She then stammered back and took off around the corner of the alley and dissapeared into the darkness of the night.

Bolin felt like his heart had shattered inside his chest. He felt like he was just a spirit floating there, watching the scene unfold but unable to do anything about it.

She loved him. She _LOVED_ him. She loved Mako, not Bolin. Even though he was pleasing her, it was his brother she was thinking about. Nay promised those feelings were behind her the night they almost... She was thinking about Mako the whole time. The WHOLE TIME.

"Congrats, bro. You win again," Bolin whispered to Mako with betrayal coating his voice. He stared at his brother, his eyes somber, before running in the direction Nay had went.

Mako was going to kill Nay. She swore that she would never hurt him.

'_Don't blame this on her,_' a voice inside of his head yelled. '_This is YOUR fault, Mako, and nobody elses._'

* * *

A large hand pressed against the nape of her neck, an unknown force tilting her head back and keeping her body in place.

"How mad your sister will be once she knows what I did to you," the voice taunted, that sickening chuckle easing past his lips.

His thumb pressed against her forehead for a second before she saw complete darkness, then fell to the ground in a heap. The inner fire burning in the pit of her stomach was now gone. She felt naked and cold - so cold.

Sobs racked through her body and at that moment she truly hated nobody more than her sister. The masked man was right; Nay wasn't there to protect her or rescue her, and she wasn't here now to tell her everything was going to be okay - to hold Yuri in her arms and sing sweet songs into her ears until she fell asleep. She wanted Mommy and Daddy back.

Yuri heard a soft voice whisper 'Mommy's here' above her crying, then felt a strange calm engulf her shaking body. She felt safe for the first time in weeks.

"Momma," she whispered, succumbing to the tiredness that had finally paralyzed her.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was more Nayli-centric that I originally made (cough, cough SIDE CHAPTER), just because a little bit of her backstory needed to be revealed, as did her take on her sister being gone and she was dealing with it.**

**Don't mind the cringe-worthy smut that was the reason I increased the rating (because there will be more smut and way more violence), but in my defense, it WAS a dream! I actually had a dream the other night involving Nay, Bolin, Asami and no clothes. It was hot. **

**And I'm a terrible person. Breaking TWO HEARTS in one chapter. *Crawls in hole and dies*. It just had to be done, guys. The inevitable just happened. **

**This chapter was alot of fun - and took alot of tears - to write. This is probably my favorite chapter so far. I hope you guys liked this chapter as much as I did! Or it made you sob endlessly. Either of them makes me happy!**

**Thank everyone for the story alerts and faves! They mean so much! Ackekxjjdk. And to the reviewers - I would kiss every. single. one of you. If I could... **

**Feedback is greatly appreciated, you lovely people! Tell me your thoughts, concerns, questions, suggestions, ideas on future chapters, etc. **

**Or PM me any of the above? That works, too! **

**~Until next time, thanks guys! **


	6. Chapter 6: Aftershock

The nighttime wind was fierce and howling against the dark sky. Such cold, nippy air Nayli was used to. The thundering and rain she was used to. Stepping into Narook's looking like a drowned rat with her heart shattered like a glass vase? That she wasn't used to.

For one, she never had enough money to dine at Narook's famous noodelry. And two, confessing your unending love to a guy that's girlfriend is one of your best friends, or breaking your best friend's heart by confessing your love even though you told him you didn't have feelings for his brother was out of her comfort zone.

She had never been through a situation like this. And there was only one solution - Nay needed some advice.

She scavenged around in her pockets and managed to dig out thirty yuans.

_That should be enough for a couple bowls of noodles,_ she thought to herself, stuffing them back into her pockets.

After ordering a bowl of noodles, in a matter of minutes, the waiter brought her food and sat it down on the table.

There were remnants of alcohol still swimming through her system, so she couldn't help but cry when she thought about how much Bolin loved these, and how much of a jerk she had been.

Nay heard someone slide into the seat across from her, but was too busy stuffing her face to really care.

"I'll have what she's having," a male voice sighed near her.

She glanced up from her bowl and quickly gulped down the food in her mouth.

"Tahno?" Nayli squeaked, almost choking.

The Tahno from the match and the Tahno sitting in front of her were two different people. His gorgeous hair was now all limp and lifeless, and he had serious bags under his eyes; his cocky attitude was replaced by an alien-like somberness. Tahno didn't have that hop in his step anymore. He was... gone.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I look..."

"Terrible! Wh - what happened?" Nay leaned forward and rested her hand atop his, her brow furrowing in concern.

"The Equalists happened," he spat. Tahno jerked his arm away and rested back against his chair. "But I don't need your pity, street rat. So if that's what you're looking to do, go find one of the Fire Ferrets."

She visibly winced and lowered her head. Nay pushed her noodles away and rested her forehead against the table. "I can't! Because they hate me! Everybody hates me, and I can do nothing right! Now I know how you feel!"

Tahno's eyes widened, then a frown spread across his lips. "I'm... sorry. I'm still trying to get the hang of this 'being nice' thing."

"Being a jerk for that long is a hard habit to break," Nay hissed. "But I forgive you."

"So, what did you do to get on the Fire Ferrets' bad side? Did you and Korra have a thing going on?"

"No! I'm - I'm not a lesbian!"

"You sure you didn't do anything to Korra? I mean, those boys are _obsessed_ with her. It's all they talk about! Korra this, Korra that. It could drive a person crazy." His lips threatened to upturn into a small smirk.

Nay looked up at Tahno with tears in her eyes. "They've never even mentioned me?"

"The only person I've heard them talk about is her..." Tahno rested his cheek in his palm, eyeing the girl. "Nayli, is it?"

"Yeah. How did you -"

"You need better friends than those losers." He leaned closer to her over the table. "Friends like me."

Nay frowned. "You're probably right... But they're my best friends."

"But you said it yourself, they hate you. And from what I heard, they don't treat you right."

Well, Tahno was less like himself than Nay thought...

"How about you come back to my place and I get you out of those wet clothes, doll," Tahno suggested, rising from his seat and sitting in a chair beside her.

"I really need to go home. They're probably worried -" Nay paused for a second. Tahno was right - they hated her. But something inside her gut warned her about this boy... It was probably nothing. Nay was tired and she still felt a little tipsy... Her judgement was really off. "You know what? Fine. But don't try to make any moves, Wolf Bat."

"Please," Tahno scoffed. "Only if I was in dire need would I have sex with - I mean - sorry."

"Whatever," Nay hissed, rising from her chair. She threw a five dollar bill on the table and grabbed Tahno's arm to leave.

"Do you even know where we're going?" he asked, as they walked down the street in the pale moonlight.

"Shut up!"

* * *

Nayli lowered her head and cleared her throat. "Thanks for everything tonight."

"Don't worry about it," Tahno shrugged. "You were good practice... with helping me be the whole 'nice' thing I'm not used to."

"No problem," she smiled, patting the man on the shoulder. Nay turned to board the ferry when a hand caught her arm and turned her around.

"Good luck with everything... Nay." Tahno awkwardly wrapped an arm around her shoulders before backing away to let her board the boat.

"Thanks," she replied, smiling.

In all honesty, she dreaded leaving Tahno's side and facing the wrath of her friends. Nay felt like an absolute bitch when thinking about the previous night's events.

Bolin. Poor Bolin. He lost Korra, and now he probably thought he lost Nay too. Nay just wanted to sit down and cry when she thought about how bad she had treated him; through everything.

Nayli deserved everything that was getting ready to come to her.

* * *

Nay ignored the cold stare from Mako, and the grieving look on Bolin's face - who hadn't even looked at her - and especially ignored Asami's "I thought we were friends" comment, but she sounded more hurt than angry.

She wiped the tears spilling down her cheeks and made a beeline towards her bedroom upstairs.

"Aren't you gonna explain what the hell happened last night!" Mako yelled to her as she ascended the stairs. She heard footsteps fastly approaching and winced when Mako twisted her around to face him. "It's the least you owe us, especially to Bolin."

"I owe you nothing," Nay hissed, wrenching her body away from him. "I've beat myself up enough over this!"

"But you swore -"

"People break promises, Mako! Do I even need to bring up -"

"Don't you dare!" He let her arms go and she raced up the steps, Mako following quickly behind her.

"You broke your promise to me four years ago!"

"I did what I had to do to protect Bolin!"

"I did what I had to do to protect my little sister. And look how much I failed! I couldn't protect her from them, and I couldn't protect her from Amon!"

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Korra interjected loudly. She stepped between the two teens and crossed her arms as if to say, "I dare one of you to move".

Nay turned to Bolin. "Your brother lied to you, Bo. I didn't just up and leave. I mean, yeah, I didn't like getting close to you guys, but I wouldn't just leave you!"

"He doesn't need to know," Mako warned, stepping towards the girl. "And I didn't even know until we were captured by the Equalists."

"I need to know," Bolin whispered. "You can't protect me from everything, bro."

"Do you remember when Mako and I went to run numbers from the Triple Threats four years ago?"

"Don't," Mako hissed. Korra pressed a hand to his chest when he stepped forward.

A tear fell down Nay's cheek and she spoke slowly. "One of the members was killed by a cop that night, and we were blamed for it. The leader took us into his quarters and interrogated us." She took a shaky breath. "He said that if one of us didn't confess, he would... do bad things to me."

The firebender clenched his fists and lowered his head. The whole room fell silent.

Nay choked back a sob and shook her head. "We both swore that we didn't do it, but he wouldn't listen. So... there were consequences." She stopped at that sentence, knowing that sparing the details would benefit everyone.

Bolin swallowed thickly. "And he made you leave?"

"I got away, because I was supposed to be killed... since I confessed to telling the cop about our hideout, resulting in the member being murdered. Even though I didn't do it."

"She saved our life, Bo," Mako confessed.

Nay suddenly collapsed to her knees and buried her face in her hands. "And I am so sorry everybody! Last night I - I was drunk, and I didn't know what I was saying! Bolin, I deserve everything that you do to me because I - I brought it on myself!"

Bolin stepped forward and sunk down beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her head in his chest. "It's okay, Nay. I - I was never mad at you. Of course I was hurt, yeah, but never mad. I could never be mad at you."

Nay mumbled something into his chest, but nobody could understand what she said.

"What'd you say?" Bolin asked, looking down at her.

"But you're supposed to," she inhaled a deep breath, "be mad at me! It would make - me feel better!"

"What do you want me to do, yell at you?" Nay mumbled a "yeah" into his shirt. "Well, I won't. I'm not like Mako," Bolin joked, glancing up at his brother, who wore a disapproving look on his face. "That's one thing I have over him, right?" he whispered quietly into her hair, which reeked of cologne and alcohol. Bolin ignored it. He was just glad to have her home, no matter how hurt he was because of the girl.

Nay started sobbing again at the question, and nodded her head quickly. "Y-you're n-nothing like him, B-Bo. I don't know w-why I s-said it."

Bolin closed his emerald eyes and rested his cheek on her head, eyeing his brother on the opposite side of the room. "But it was true... And please... don't lie this time."

"I wish it wasn't, Bo. I wish I loved you more... I wish it was you," she replied in a hushed tone, making sure Mako couldn't hear. She would never see the end of it if he did. "But you'll always be better in my eyes."

"Even if it won't be enough," he whispered, tightening his grip around her. As if the moment he let go, she would go flying back into his brother's arms - which were already full with Asami _and_ Korra.

Nay was silent as Bolin lifted her in his arms and carried her to her room. He helped the waterbender put on her nightgown and even tucked her in bed.

"No matter how much you love him, Nay, I'll always be here for you. Even if it's him you're constantly thinking about - I don't care. I just want you, even if it's on bad terms." His lower lip quivered and the boy leaned in to peck a kiss to her lips, but stopped himself and turned to place it on her cheek. "I've lost enough already."

For a second, as Bolin rose from her bed, Nay had a strong urge to pull him down and take him right there, but she inevitably shook that thought away. How could she deserve someone that sweet?

... Actually, nobody really deserved Bolin.

* * *

"I think... I want to ask her to be my girlfriend," Bolin admitted to his brother.

Nay was sound asleep in her bed, and the brothers stood at the window in her room, looking back at her.

"It's not a good idea," Mako replied solemnly, shaking his head.

The earthbender furrowed his eyebrows in agitation. He wanted to yell at Mako about how he had said the same thing about Korra, and it ended up backfiring just because Mako wanted Korra for himself. He wanted to yell at him about how much he liked Nay, and Mako couldn't - _wouldn't_ - take her away from him. But Bolin couldn't do it, because his brother was just looking after him and his best interest.

"You know I love you, right?" Mako asked after a long silence.

Bolin sniffed. "I guess so."

"See, this is what I mean. You're mad because I told you not to date Nay. A girl is tearing us apart. Again."

"Maybe you're tearing us apart!" Bolin had meant the sentence as a snarky reply, until it started to make sense, that is. "I - I didn't mean it like that."

Mako sighed and leaned his head back against the glass of the window. "I have a feeling you did..."

"Well, I still wanna ask Nay out."

"Even though she confessed her love for me?"

"She was drunk!"

"Why are you defending her?"

"Because I love her!" Mako's eye widened in response to his brother's confession. "Yeah, I said it, okay. So, would you please back off, bro? For me? I like her more than Korra."

It took all of Mako's willpower not to scream "NO!" in Bolin's face, but he assessed the situation and sighed. It was the least he could do for Bolin. He deserved happiness. "Fine. I'll leave you alone." It's not like Mako had any feelings for Nay anyway. He was... sorta sure about that.

* * *

Asami lounged atop her bed, reading the book Jinora had so kindly offered to lend her. It was around sundown that afternoon, and frankly, the Sato girl had nothing better to do with her time.

She audibly flipped a page of the book before catching movement in her doorway out of the corner of her eye. The door slid open and in walked a wary Nayli. Asami continued to read her book as if nothing had happened.

"Fire Nation culture. That's a good book. Jinora lent it to me about a week ago," the waterbender said with a weak smile.

Asami looked up from the page she had been reading and barely acknowledged Nay's presence.

Nay loudly sighed. "Listen, I know I've been a terrible friend lately. And I'm sorry. I know that it won't change anything but I just came to tell you that... that Mako doesn't have feelings for me. He loves you, Asami." Said-girl lowered her book and stared at Nay with wide eyes, completely taken aback by the direction of this conversation. "You were all he talked about when he and I were captured. You're still all he talks about, and I would hate to let a guy ruin our friendship before we even got it pretty much started." Nayli blurted out the words so fast Asami could barely understand half of what she was saying, but she completely understood the last sentence. "And I don't expect you to forgive me right away, seeing as I openly confessed my love for your boyfriend..."

"I don't forgive you, Nay, but I don't blame you either," Asami replied with a smile. "But it doesn't mean I'm not really pissed."

"Completely understandable."

"Can we just - hold off on the whole 'friend' thing? Just until I get my feelings straightened out?"

"Of course," Nay sighed, throwing on a fake smile that couldn't even fool a wolf bat. "I completely understand."

* * *

Ikki, Jinora, and Meelo lounged comfortably against a silent Nayli; Ikki and Meelo lay on both thighs, and Jinora opted to sit up against the waterbender's breast. The kids were watching Korra weave gracefully through the airbending gates in awe.

Nay was in her own little world, meditating on memories that happened to her over the timespan of the past few months.

_"I'm here, and I won't let anything bad happen to you." She pet the kitten's black fur. "So is Margo. Right kitty?"_

Nay had promised Yuri that she was there to protect her. That was the night that she killed two men. She lost sight of what was important to her - her sister. She let her gaurd down and the only family she had left slipped through her fingers. But she would get Yuri back.

_She had fallen asleep waiting on him to touch her, to shake her and tell her to wake up; she wanted him to comfort her.._.

Mako. Mako. Mako. She hadn't been able to get his name out of her head that night - and still couldn't until the other night.

_"No matter how much you love him, Nay, I'll always be here for you. Even if it's him you're constantly thinking about - I don't care. I just want you, even if it's on bad terms." His lower lip quivered and the boy leaned in to peck a kiss to her lips, but stopped himself and turned to place it on her cheek. "I've lost enough already."_

Bolin. The one who always got the short end of the stick. Every time. Why didn't she just stop and realize how much Bolin liked her? But she realized, as soon as he said that, how much she liked him back - maybe even loved. Nay realized how much she was missing out on by not choosing him. So she made up her mind.

Bolin was who she wanted.

* * *

**A/N: Yay for this chapter! Let's see, we have Tahno trying to be all nice, Nay explaining what happened four years ago, and a DECISION! **

**So, at first, I was going to have Asami forgive her and them become friends again, but then I thought "Okay, wait. If my best friend confessed her love for MY BOYFRIEND, I wouldn't wanna be friends for a while after that." And it would have been kinda Mary-Sue-ish, right? Everyone forgiving you right away after you did something bad? Bolin, on the other hand, that's just part of his character to forgive easily. **

**It would have been too easy in general.**

**By the way, just because Nay chose Bolin, doesn't mean they could stick together. I still don't know the final pairings. So, how about a little voting action? **

**I wanted to put a lot of stuff in this chapter, but I wanted to get it up before my birthday tomorrow. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.) I'm probably gonna be all busy the next couple of days and you guys have waited long enough. So, yeah. I hope it isn't too bad. **

**But, angst. Angst everywhere. **

**Review! They depend on the fate of the world. (Mine).**

**Until next time,**

**Bailee~**


	7. Sickness Causes Dreams and Revelations

**A/N: Kso, I have a serious question. Is anyone even READING this stupid thing anymore? I got two reviews last chapter. TWO. Out of my 26 watchers and 14 people faving, you'd think at least half would review, right? Because I have no idea what the hell I'm doing wrong. But it's obviously something.**

**Oh well, to the people that reviewed last chapter, this one is for you... It's a real doozy! Ya know, terrible violence and stuff. The usual for me.**

* * *

Being sick sucks. And no, not the oh-a-cold-is-no-big-deal kinda sick, more like, HOLY-FUCK-I'M-ON-MY-DEATH-BEAD sick.

Everything about Nay hurt, even down to her bones. She was running such a high fever that her vision was getting blurry, and she felt as if she could vomit up her intestines... again. Not to mention the weakness, lack of appetite, and the fact that she was completely bedridden.

Coincidentally, she came down with this mysterious sickness the day after Bolin asked her to be his girlfriend - she replied yes, by the way. And being the good boyfriend that he was, Bolin stayed in the room right beside her, even after she yelled at him to "Get the fuck out, Bolin!"

But who wasn't pissed off when sick? When your head feels like it's about to explode from a headache-from-hell, and you can barely breathe - let alone talk to people, you don't really feel like putting up with anyone.

The waterbender was currently curled into a fetal position, on her side as she lay on the bed, attempting to will away the waves of nausea to no avail.

A worried Asami stepped into her room, forgetting all about the fact that she was supposed to be pissed at Nay for what she had done, and focused more on her friend's condition. There were more important things to worry about than a boy. Because Nay was right - a certain boy had ripped their friendship apart before it had really began...

"If you're here to yell at me, I know I deserve it, but can you please wait until I get better, 'Sami?" the sick girl whispered weakly.

The heiress scrunched her eyebrows together. Did - did she just say... please? Nay never begged for anything. It was either you get it done, or she torture you into doing it. It was apparently just the way she was raised - another adaptation to her lifestyle.

But there was one thing Asami was sure of: Nay was _really_ sick.

The non-bender heard Nay murmur something in her sleep and edged closer to the bed to try and hear what she was saying. Asami sat down lightly on the bed and patted the waterbender on her back, which was drenched in sweat.

"No," Nay whispered, wrenching away from Asami's touch. "I didn't mean it. I - I'm sorry!"

"Hey, listen, I'm not..." Asami trailed off when Nay started her rambling again, and realized that it wasn't _her_ she was talking to.

"We didn't do it, Valo... We didn't... do it." Nay tossed her head around on the pillow and rolled onto her other side.

"What's wrong with her?" Asami jumped at the immediate voice and turned to see Bolin standing behind her. "She's even more pale than before..."

"I - I think she's having a nightmare," Asami responded in a hushed tone. It seemed like the more they talked, the worse Nay's protests would get.

Bolin quirked an eyebrow. "What's she dreaming about, then?"

* * *

_They always hated returning to the headquarters with a job-well-failed. It rarely ever happened... but when it did? Valo would break open the literal gates of hell and reign down on the members with a rage Kyoshi would be proud of._

_The "members" included Mako and Nayli, and they usually got the brunt of it all. Mainly because the cowardly members always told that the children were the ones that fucked it all up. That was never true._

_Until today. Mako just turned eleven; Nay was nine. It was like every other day, but a string of accidents caused their mission of delivering numbers to turn completely in it's head, do a triple backflip, then jump off a cliff into an ocean of jagged rocks._

_The large slam of a door alerted the two children immediately that Valo was mad, which meant only one thing: something had gone wrong._

_The leader's figure stepped into view, dark hair tousled and expensive clothes wrinkled. He reeked of failure. And sex, maybe sex._

_All the members of the Triple Threats lined up straight in front of him. Mako and Nay always chose to stick to the end so they wouldn't stick out like two sore thumbs._

_"Listen here you fuckers!" Valo sneered coldly, throwing down the empty bottle of scotch in his hand. It broke instantly and glass shards flew everywhere. "We just lost a man today. An important firebender. Now, I don't know about you faggots, but I'm pretty fucking upset!" As he spoke, he ambled down the row of members, eyeing each of them one by one. He stopped at a tall, lanky waterbender and clenched his teeth together so hard you could almost hear them breaking. "If I figure out who did it, you're fucking dead! I will personally make sure of that! Then I'll give you to each one of these members and they can do whatever the hell they want with you. I couldn't really give a fuck what."_

_Mako reached for Nay's hand and wound his fingers with hers. They clutched each other even after their knuckles turned bone white._

_"Just remember, Nay. We're doing this for Bo and Yuri. They need us," Mako quietly reminded her. She was sobbing into his shoulder like a child that had been slapped by their mother. It scared him, because over the last year she had gotten so stoic that she looked unbreakable. So for her to cry, it had to be something that truly terrified her. "I swear, I'll protect you."_

* * *

It wasn't until Nay heard Mako's voice that she actually reposed. Bolin wasn't very happy that it took his brother to calm _his_ girlfriend down, but she seemed to be content for the time being. That's all that mattered to Bolin. But when his brother sat down on the bed and grabbed her hand like... like HE was her boyfriend, the earthbender wanted to flip a table. But he reminded himself that it was calming her down.

He couldn't help but hear her words from the other night echo into the deepest parts of his brain. It ate at him and ate at him until there was almost nothing left. He couldn't ignore the obvious fact that Nay had been through just about _everything_ with Mako. There was obvious chemistry there. And it _killed_ him.

"You promised, Mako." Nay grabbed his hand with all the strength she could muster, but Mako could barely feel her touch on his in the first place. "You swore you would protect me."

Asami and Bolin visibly paled and gave each other wary glances. They turned to Mako. His face was twisted into a pained expression and his eyes were closed.

"I know what she's dreaming about," Mako whispered. "And you guys don't need to know. It's - it's terrible." He rose from the bed and left the room quickly, shaking his head in disbelief.

There was an awkward silence that followed his retreat.

"... What just happened?" Bolin asked innocently. An equally dumbfound Asami pressed a hand to her forehead.

"... I don't know, Bolin."

* * *

Nay felt like she was currently in Limbo. Like she was in a state of being somewhere, but not really being ANYWHERE at the same time. It felt like this endless oblivion of her memories - good and bad. A kaleidoscope, if you will... seeing as the events were constantly changing.

Her mind kept repeatedly fluttering back to a memory that occured the other day, before she fell ill. It was the day Bolin asked her to be his girlfriend. She remembered like it happ- oh, wait. Never mind.

The noon sun was directly centered in the sky, fighting to keep everyone warm on the island. The poor sun was failing drastically, because it was so cold you could freeze water on the damn roof. Her and the air babies tried it. It worked...

But even though the day was cold as ice, Bolin was in surprisingly high spirits. He had a smile on his face from the time he woke up until he went to bed that day. Firstly, he was extremely excited about asking Nay out, and secondly, she said yes on the spot.

Anyways, as Bolin exited the temple and made his way to the training grounds, he saw Nay sparring with Mako like they did everyday at noon. Something she never asked him to do, but he pushed that thought away. Because if she said yes to his question, there would be no more competition on who wins Nayli's heart, or on who's the better brother. The winner would be crowned once and for all.

Bolin stood there for a second and watched them spar. He saw the way they moved in perfect sync, their bodies adjusting to each other's moves as if they were dancing. They never even hit each other once. It was kind of a beautiful thing to watch, and he couldn't hide the fact that Nay would have been absolutely perfect for the waterbending spot on their team.

The perfect threesome!

... Well, that came out a lot dirtier than Bolin had meant it to, although from the stuff Korra had told him, girls were into that kinda thing. He wondered... No. His thoughts had no business going there right now. What if he got a- never mind, it was way too cold to even attempt such an impossible feat.

"Hey, Bo," Nay called, running over to him.

The earthbender hid the bouquet of fire lilies behind his back as she walked over. He had bought them for the big moment because Nay always said they were her favorite.

Bolin cleared his throat. "So, I guess you and Mako have finally made up...?"

Nayli turned around and looked at a shirtless Mako, who was wiping his face with a towel. She bit her lip. "Not really... We just figured that instead of fighting, we could use our anger for something productive - like sparring. I've actually learned alot by watching his movements."

The earthbender nodded his head and pursed his lips. "Good, good. So, I was wondering something..."

"What is it?"

"Can we go somewhere more... private? It's a personal question."

Nay smiled cheekily. "Yeah, of course."

As the two walked away from ogling eyes, Mako fitting into that category, Korra walked up to said-firebender with a grin on her face.

"I really hope they're going somewhere to just talk and not fuck like rabbit hounds," she casually told the stoic boy beside her.

"Korra!"

"Oh, come on, city boy! Like you weren't thinking it. You could practically get off from the sexual tension between those two!"

Mako clamped his hands over his ears. "I'm not listening to this."

"I knew it! Because you're jealous!" Korra punched him fiercely in the arm. "I could get off from the sexual tension between you and Nay, too."

"For one thing, I'm not jealous; and another, Spirits, what is wrong with you? You and your blunt sexuality!"

"It's not my fault I know what I want!" Korra yelled to Mako and he stomped away.

On the other end of the island, Nay stopped in her tracks and tugged on Bolin's sleeve.

"Did you feel that?" she asked with a raise of her eyebrow. "There's a disturbance in the force, which means only one thing... Korra and Mako were fighting again."

Bolin blew a rasberry and giggled more than he should have had at her comment. He wanted her to be his girlfriend even more now.

Nay chuckled humbly and fanned her training shirt. Her boobs were getting extremely uncomfortable under all those wrappings.

"So, what is it that you wanted to ask me?" she asked, wiping away the beads of sweat collected on her forehead.

Bolin ducked his hand under his shirt where the flowers were hidden moments before.

"I know that the circumstances aren't all that great, but..." he took out the bouquet and kneeled down on one knee in one floud motion, "will you... be my girlfriend?"

The flowers were bent at some places and were a little flat, but Nay was taken aback at the bouquet of fire lilies staring at her. They were her favorite. Could Bolin have remembered that from years ago?

Nay realized that she had made the perfect decision in choosing him.

"Yes!" she cheered, tackling Bolin to the ground. She planted a deep kiss on his lips and felt a smile grace his lips. "I would love to, Bo," she whispered when their lips finally seperated.

He fist pumped the air and let out a "yeah!" before snuggling into her neck with that boyish giggle of his.

The scenery stretched and distorted to a beautiful beach, overgrown with cattails beside the water. Nay waded through the plants and stood over a small cliff overlooking the shore of the beach.

She examined the scenery in awe, completely taken aback by the beauty of the scene laid before her. The sky was a tangle of beautiful red and pink hues as the sun rose on the horizon, almost triumphant; it looked like someone had hand painted it. Nayli heard the waves lapping at the shore in all of it's crystal blue glory, the light of the sun glinted off the sea and looked like diamonds on the water. It was absolute paradise.

Nay chortled incredulously as she leaped off the cliff and landed on her knees, unharmed in the grainy sand; her giggles echoed down the coast.

"Come and get me, momma!"

The waterbender froze when she heard the little girl's voice. She glanced up and saw a young Yuri running down the beach, a beautiful woman trailing behind her.

Wait, what?

"Momma, look!" Yuri exclaimed, lifting up a seashell. "It's so pretty."

"Yes, it is, my love," her mother's voice cooed. "Why don't you show your sister?"

Nay felt hot tears stream down her face, and she sucked in a deep breath, clawing at her mother's figure. She almost forgot how beautiful her mother was, and hearing her voice after so long... It felt like someone had stabbed her in the stomach.

Her mother always had this timeless beauty to her. Her blue eyes sparkled as she intently watched her youngest daughter play in the sand. She tossed her auburn hair over her shoulder and giggled when Yuri fell on her butt after she lost her balance; it sounded like wind chimes.

"Mom!" Nay shrieked, practically flinging herself at the woman. She flowed right through her mother's figure and face-planted roughly in the sand. It stuck to her face from the wetness on her cheeks and she had to rake her fingers over her toungue to get rid of the grainy substance from her mouth.

"Sissy, look! Momma told me to show this to you."

"It's so beautiful!" A younger Nayli took the smooth seashell in her hand and smiled. "Thank you."

Present-Nay felt the sand beside her shift with someone's footsteps, and realized that it was a smaller, younger version of her when she looked up. Young-Nay looked to be around thirteen years old; her black hair fell to her hips in soft curls over the flower-covered dress she was wearing. But the age didn't make sense. Her mother had been dead since she was, what, seven? So how could Raina be standing right in front of her?

The younger version of Nay glowered down at her, then crouched to her knees in the sand, her dress circling her like a halo.

"You're gorgeous," the little girl whispered to Nay, taking a lock on the elder's dark hair in her hand.

As Nay reached for the little girl, she started to crumble like sand. The older girl abruptly panicked and when she reached out, saw her own hand start to dissolve. She looked back and saw the smiling faces of Raina and Yuri as they turned into grains and mixed with the sand below her body.

"Save me! Save me!" a disembodied voice echoed through the air. The next minute was filled with a tense silence before a blood curdling scream lashed out in Nay's ear. She ducked away from the noise and whimpered. Even after she covered her ears, the endless screams echoed inside her head.

The screams were her mother.

* * *

Bolin screamed like a girl as Nay jolted up in her bed, breathing heavily. He could have at least had a warning, for Spirits sake!

"Yuri's in trouble," was all she told him before stumbling out of bed and over to the armoire.

Bolin widened his eyes in panic as she threw on her clothes like she WASN'T deathly ill moments before.

"W - what are you doing?" the earthbender shrieked as he pulled himself up off the floor.

Nay turned around, pale-faced and sick, and shook her head. "I have to get Yuri back, Bo. She's been in hell long enough." She closed her eyes in defeat. "I - I've lost sight of what really mattered... My family."

"I'll go with you, if you think this is what you should do," Bolin declared. He stood to his full height and walked over to his girlfriend. "I'll stick with you no matter what."

Nayli leaned into his chest jadedly as Bolin wrapped his arms around her, as if that was the only way to keep her safe.

"I love you," Nay whispered calmly into his chest, inhaling his familiar earthy scent.

Bolin smiled from ear to ear and kissed her forehead. The war between him and Mako was finally over. She had said those three words, finally. The words that Bolin told Mako, "Whoever she says 'I love you' to, that's the winner. Once and for all." He suddenly frowned, remembering back a week ago when they were behind that seedy bar. The earthbender sighed in utter defeat. Mako had won all this time, before either of them ever knew it.

* * *

**A/N: Here's another chapter filled with angst, violence, cussing and romance. What else could you ask for? Oh, and some character development; that's always good. **

**The reason why the plot is moving a little slow is because I have something BIIIIIIIG in store for Nay and all the readers the next couple of chapters. Something you guys won't see coming. **

**So, Nay's gonna rescue her sister! What happened in her dreams to give her that mindset? How will she rescue her? How does she know where Yuri is? How did she get better so fast? Where are the rest of the Krew? Why am I asking so many rhetorical questions?**

**So, um... How about that Naylin fluff? And I have good smut coming soon. Real soon. Between those two. Because everyone loves dat smut, right? Wait - I think I might not. Just depends if you guys wanna actually see some? **

**HEADCANON: BOLIN IS THE FUCKING DEVIL IN BED! Like, as soon as the damn bedroom door closes, he's completely insane. Could you imagine him and Nay in bed together (because of how in-charge she is)? /Nose bleed. **

**I have a SHIT LOAD in store for next chapter. Things are gonna get REALLY dramatic and I can't wait to start writing! If I get any reviews this chapter, however. It's making me sad, really. Do you want to be responsible for my sadness? Okay then, REVIEW. **

**~Bailee out. **


	8. Once a Fighter, Always a Fighter, Part 1

**A/N: I have stuff to tell you peoples before we get onto the story. Just a little insight on my life, if you're interested. Story and discussion will be down there. So, yeah. Let's do this shit!**

**First of all: DHCJSOXKLSLS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS LAST CHAPTER. I can't do it without you guys, an if it wasn't for the reviews, I would have no incentive to write this chapter!**

**Okay, so, I went with my brother and grandmother to see _The Amazing Spider-Man_. There is one thing I have to say about that: Holy fuck, Andrew Garfield is hot! Not to mention his acting skillz in the movie. I seriously liked it alot. All I had to do was pretty much think of the movie as an original and not a reboot. And it worked. **

**Oh! My mom got out of jail. Then she came to see me, we bonded over Avatar and Korra, and guess what? The bitch left a one in the morning! What mother does that? Akxjkskx. I am so depressed, because I miss her like hell. **

**Okay, on with the story!**

* * *

As Nayli was gathering a warm set of clothes for her "adventure", as Bolin was calling it in front of their friends, she was alerted by a loud knock on her door. A certain pair of airbenders peeked their head in the crack, causing Nay to groan in protest.

"Why are you packing warm clothes? Are you gonna sneak out? Are you and Bolin really boyfriend and girlfriend? He talks about you alot. He really likes you. He -" Ikki stopped as the waterbender rose from the floor and stumbled over to her, attempting to push the girls out the door.

Jinora eyed Nay warily, noting the fact that she was barely about to push the girls a couple of inches. "You... don't look good at all. Are you sure you can go on your trip?"

"I have to," the black-haired girl whispered. "It's... really important, Jin."

The oldest airbender sighed, hugging the book in her hands tighter to her chest. "It's about Yuri, isn't it...?"

"N - no! Where did you get that idea from?"

"You're a terrible liar, ya know," Ikki interceded.

"And you were gonna sneak out on your own, weren't you?" Jinora asked. "I'm guessing tonight? So that's why you have the warm clothes; and there's gonna be a bunch of snow wherever you're going."

Wow, that girl was smart.

"I can't get Bolin mixed up in this. If he got hurt... I would never be able to live with myself; Mako wouldn't be able to live with me, either." Nay sighed and ran both hands through her tangled tresses. "It's not his problem to deal with anyway..."

Ikki jutted out her bottom lip. "They're gonna be mad..."

Nayli raised an eyebrow. "That's why you won't tell anybody... Right, guys?"

The two girl nodded their heads in agreement.

"Good."

* * *

His breath was warm and comfortable against the girl's neck as he braided her auburn hair out of her face. She thought it looked similarly like a fish's tale, with the braid starting from her hairline down.

"Your hair is so beautiful - just like your mother's," he whispered into her ear softly.

At first, they had been very resentful and cold to one another - even though he had been the one to kidnap her. But as the weeks progressed, they had grown to know each other. He told her that he had always wanted a little sister (or daughter).

"My sister's gonna find me," the little girl blurted innocently, fidgeting with the blue ribbon in her hands.

The man furrowed his eyebrows, tying off the braid. "You don't want her to?"

She shook her head. "She left me, so I hate her... And she scares me."

"Why does she scare you?"

"Becauuuuse, um, well... You can't tell anyone, okay?" The man nodded his head slowly, unsure if he wanted to know the answer. "She's a - a bloodbender," the girl whispered uneasily.

The gentleman took the ribbon from her hands and weaved the silk through her braid, starting at the base of her neck and stopping at her lower back, where her hair finally ended. "That's very interesting," he said flatly, trying to hide the interest on the subject growing in his mind. "Has she ever used it on you -"

"No," the girl interjected. "She uses it to protect me, even though I know she hates it. But she does it for me, because I'm too weak to take care of myself."

The man sighed and rose from his place on the bed beside the girl. "You are just as strong as she is. Don't let age become a barrier to your bending."

The younger girl blinked back a waterfall of tears. "I don't have it anymore..."

"Listen to me." He lowered himself onto one knee in front of her and took the girl's hands in his. "Losing your bending isn't the end of the world. After all, it is only an extension of yourself. Yes, it may feel like Amon has taken away your identity, but you will eventually realize who you have been all along - with or without your bending."

The girl sniffed and wiped her runny nose on the sleeve of her blue parka. "I guess you're right..."

He smiled warmly and walked over to the door of her bedroom. "Sweet dreams, dear Yuri."

"Nighty night, Uncle..."

* * *

Nay stood on the cliff overlooking Yue Bay with the bag of warm clothes for her trip at her side. She glanced at the empty space beside her - the space that Bolin should have occupied - and turned to look at Air Temple Island, for what may have been the last time.

"No matter what happens," Nay murmured, "I love you guys." She took a deep breath and turned to face the deep waters, glinting under the full moon. Lucky her. She could use her bending tonight against her sister's captor.

"Did you really think you would be able to sneak away without saying goodbye?" The waterbender jumped at the immediate voice and whipped around to face Mako.

She smiled warmly, the expression not fully translating to her eyes. "I knew you guys would stop me if I told you."

He took a step towards her and let his arms hang loosely at his sides. "Damn right, we would," he whispered, almost playfully. "I really appreciate my - I mean - Bolin's feelings being taken into account."

"He was hell-bent on going with me, Mako. You and I both know that if anything happened to him, I would die." She pressed a palm to her forehead. "This was the only way..."

A pair of arms encased her in a hug, coincidentally shielding her from the icy winds. Nay buried her head in the curve of Mako's neck and rested her cheek against his warm scarf. She smelled a faint musk emanating from the article of clothing and recognized it as cologne... It was his father's cologne. Tears brimmed in her eyes at the thought and she bit back a cry of protest as he pulled away, all-too soon.

"Well, good luck... Be safe," he said stoically.

"I still love you, ya know," Nay blurted out flatly, as if to her those words were casually said to him. "I just thought that since I might not come back... We could stitch up some loose ends, ya know?"_ With passionate sex._

"I love you, too... Just not like you love me." Mako rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and averted his gaze when Nay visibly paled.

She turned to face the ocean, the wind whipping her ebony hair in her face. "I don't know if I wanna punch or kiss you right now... but I won't do either. Because you get enough of both from Korra and Asami, right?"

Mako sucked in a deep breath. _The kissing would be nice, _he thought, but quickly pushed that aside. He had a girlfriend... and Korra. And everytime he thought anout Nay like that, he was betraying Bolin. "You should leave before someone notices you're gone."

And when he turned back to face where she was standing, she was. She had vanished right through his fingers, as if she was nothing but dust - or as if Nay never existed at all...

He had lied right through his teeth, when she didn't even notice. She was standing right there, the perfect chance to tell her how he really felt... But Bolin had told him to stay away, and this was the only way he could force Nay to let go - force _himself_ to let go of the ties that bound them. Once and for all.

He was so stupid. What if she got hurt? What if she got killed? Then she would never know the truth! She would have to die thinking that the guy she loved didn't love her back.

It just seemed like he could never do anything right these days, and boy, how right he was.

* * *

The journey through the hills was excruciating. Even under all the fur from her parka, she was still freezing cold from a mixture of the sharp winds and knee-deep snow - in some spots. And she hadn't been walking but thirty minutes.

Nay was just hoping that where her mother led her in the dream actually existed, and if it did, that her sister was actually there. She smiled bereftly at the thought of the young firebender. Yuri was okay; the waterbender knew that much.

After a while, the cold cut into her lungs like an icy vice. Her toes and fingers were starting to become numb - probably hypothermia, since she was so unlucky - but Nayli hammered on. She dragged her legs through the snow at a sluggish pace, grunting in frustration. Then a thought appeared: She was a damn waterbender for Spirits sake! Why couldn't she just melt the snow out of her way?

"I am so damn stupid!" Nay shrieked, pulling the gloves off her hands and the hood off her head. "I've been wading through this for half an hour, and didn't even think of the fact that snow is water!"

She looked down and melted the substance to prove a point, then gasped at a sudden realization: There were tire tracks imbedded in the snow!

"Well, so much for moving the demon water," she grumbled. Mainly because if she did, the tracks would be gone. "... I guess I could walk on them?"

Needless to say, that's what she did. For the next hour, Nay was stumbling through the packed snow with relief. It was the only couple of inches that she was actually able to walk on without sinking and freezing her feet to death. Thank the Spirits for those tire tracks.

Nay followed them for about another hour or two before tripping over a mound of snow, which was also where the trail cut off. She pulled her head from the wet substance and raised up onto her knees. There was absolutely nothing -

A surprised yelp escaped her lips as her body rose to its feet clumsily, on its own accord. Her bones creaked in protest against the intruder and she felt the blood in her veins run cold. Nay's eyes widened as she searched the trees for any sign of life throughout the forest, but ended at a loss.

Someone was bloodbending her. She would know that feeling from anywhere.

Nay extended her chi throughout the forest, trying to pick up the blood belonging to her attacker. After a couple of minutes and a strain-enduced aneurism, she found that nearest source was half a mile away, so unless there was an invisible bloodbender somewhere in the woods... What the fuck was bloodbending her?

* * *

Bolin knew something was terribly wrong with Nay. He didn't know exactly what - hell, nobody even knew where she was - but it was a certain feeling repeatedly punching him in the gut that had alerted him about her possible predicament. It constantly reminded the boy of this empty, aching feeling left behind in her wake.

The earthbender felt someone approach him, but just decided to ignore it and continued to sit cross-legged on the cliff's edge, exactly where he had asked her to be his girlfriend. It was funny to him that, until two months ago, he forgot that the waterbender existed, let alone who she even was, and now he loved her more than life itself.

Bolin suddenly realized that it was his brother who had approached him when he saw the flash of a certain red scarf as Mako sat down beside him.

"Hey," the firebender greeted, nudging Bolin's shoulder with his own. When the younger boy never replied, Mako sighed, his gaze traveling to the setting sun over the horizon. "You miss her, don't you?"

"More than you'll ever know," Bolin replied flatly, despite his intentions to sound sincere. "It doesn't help that you're the last person who got to talk to her, and not me. Her boyfriend," he added softly.

"Hey, I tried to get you up the other night, Bo. And do you know what you did?" Bolin shook his head, sneeking a peek at Mako from the corners of his eyes. "You threw a lamp at me and locked me out of the room for three hours..."

Bolin giggled warmly, despite his attempt at being upset. Just like always, though, Mako knew exactly what to say to make things better... Or worse, at times.

"Sorry about that, but you know how stubborn us earthbenders are..."

"And you know how hot-headed us firebenders are..."

Bolin frowned to himself, lowering his head. "And we both know how graceful, and pretty, and blunt, and brave, and strong a certain waterbender is."

The elder brother buried his forehead in his palm. He was supposed to be making Bolin happier, but it seemed like every subject the conversation veered to, it always ended up crashing and burning with Nay being brought up somewhere. Even though she wasn't even in their presence, she still had his little brother wrapped around her finger... Him, too.

"Okay, Bolin. You have got to stop talking about -"

"I can't, Mako! She's all I've been able to think about! I just - I..." Bolin trailed off, hurt and wariness clearly stitched into his voice.

As Bolin leaned his head onto Mako's shoulder in defeat, he couldn't help but wonder why the earthbender had sounded so... scared.

Mako shut his eyes. "You just what, Bo?"

"I - I have this feeling that something... terrible is wrong with her. It's been nagging at me since about noon." Bolin glanced up at his brother. "I'm really afraid, Mako. I haven't been this scared since... since Mom and Dad died."

That was all Mako needed to hear - along with the sobs that followed shortly after - for him to wrap his arms around Bolin in the most meaningful embrace they had shared in years. It felt exactly like that night; Bolin clutched onto Mako like a life preserver, tears racing down his cheeks, sobs racking through his body. Deja vu stabbed the firebender in the gut like a blunt knife, poking and prodding his memories raw. The circumstances were pretty much the same - they didn't know if Nay was still alive, and their parents were dead right before them. He even remembered Bolin having the same defeated posture as back then.

"I'll find her, Bolin, if it's the last thing I do. I promise."

"Pinky promise?" The earthbender held out his pinky, and Mako interlocked it with his own.

"Pinky promise."

* * *

Uncontrollable screams. Tears. Agonizing pain. That's all Nay remembered from the past three hours, when an unknown presence led her to a house using bloodbending, and tortured her right in the damn basement. Using her own body; her own form of bending. The thing that she was supposed to trust the most had betrayed her.

The girl whimpered as that familiar sensation rose to engulf her body yet again. She had figured out that there was a set of five minute intervals where her attacker would show mercy and let the girl at least catch her breath, lost by the guttural screams tearing their way out of her throat every second.

The pain rippling throughout her body intensified at the injury of her broken tibia. The bone jutted out from her skin, more pure and white than that of her extremely pale face.

"I am very sorry, my dear, but I had to make sure you couldn't run," a voice said from above her, echoing off the walls in all its husky glory. "We wouldn't want the police ruining my plans, now would we?"

Nay dug her nails into the floor and attempted to drag herself to the closest light. She gritted her teeth in an attempt to ignore the stabs of pain radiating throughout her leg as it drug helplessly along the floor. But that was what she was at the moment: completely and utterly helpless...

"Get away from me," she snapped, reaching for the wooden step within her reach.

Nay heard the man click his tongue in distaste, then felt him rest a hand on her shoulder, but made no attempt to stop her. "You are in no position to have such a snarky attitude with someone like me. It's a habit you should break early before it really gets you in trouble..."

"I could tell you a lot about what you should break. Starting with your fucking legs!" She heaved herself up on to the first step, turning for the first time to face her attacker. Nay gasped, suddenly feeling very light-headed. It was the man her parents refused to talk about, whenever she asked about their family tree. They had said he wasn't the best man - neither was her father's other brother, who died when he was young.

"Hello, Nayli," he sneered, raising to his full height in front her. The man slowly stepped towards her, as if mocking the fear clearly showed on her face. "It's so nice to finally meet you..."

* * *

An odd warmness shrouded her whole being like a blanket, sinking deeply into her bones, slowly dulling the ache surrounding her whole body. She felt a hand on her cheek. It was warm and large; calloused.

_Bolin_.

Nay opened her eyes as fast as she could, yet everything seemed to happen in slow motion. As if her brain was sluggishly comprehending the state of her surroundings. She reached out her hand, and it took a little over a minute for it to be seen in her line of vision.

The bastard had given her drugs. Nay had actually heard about some similar to them on the Black Market. It was an inhalant taken to slow your mind down, mostly used by mental hospitals in order to slow down their patients so the doctors could get the upper hand.

So, given this resolution, it was only her that was in slow motion, nobody else. Her chances at escape were at zero as long as the drug was in her system.

"Soniant," her captor said, his voice extremely low in pitch and his lips moving at an achingly slow pace. "A drug that pretty much turns your brain to mush. Your mind is currently playing at one percent it's normal speed, and so is the rest of your body..."

Before the waterbender would react, she examined her surroundings. Was she in a bedroom? Nay was definitely laying on a bed, and a desk and chair sat in the corner, facing the wall. Besides that, the only other furniture was a lamp near the bedside table, and a wardrobe sitting in the other corner of the small room. There were water tribe decorations Nay was completely unfamiliar with, even though her heritage linked with that nation. In her defense, though, her parents had left the tribes when she was just a couple months old to move to Republic City and join pro-bending.

But she couldn't hide the familiarity that this place provided. It felt like such a... a home to her. Was it his home?

She felt the man brush a stray hair out of her face, then lightly caress the apple of her cheek with his fingertips. There was nothing sexual in the action at all. It reminded her of the way a father would brush a child's tears away.

"It was not my intention to hurt you so badly. Trust me."

She didn't even feel threatened by the man's presence, which was completely different to her. Nay was just so used to hating everyone for fear of them injuring her sister, just like they had her parents. In all honesty, humans were evil monsters, including her -

Wait, Yuri!

"Where's my sister?" Nay inquired, the words not coming out fast enough.

The man shook his head. "She's not your sister anymore, Nayli. Yuri has changed greatly, and you are the only one who can heal her... If she even wants to see you again, that is."

Nay let out a guttural cry as she thrashed against him, ignoring the stabbing pain radiating from her leg. She felt the drug begin to wear off. Time had increased.

"My brother would not be fond of your temper tantrums, Nay," the man warned coolly, slowly rising from the bed and away from her flailing limbs.

Time had returned to normal at that point, and Nay was fast enough to grab the front of his blue jacket. "Listen here, fucker, you know nothing about my family! You have no idea what I've gone through over the years because of that girl. You know absolutely nothing! So give my sister to me and _let us go!_"

Before she knew it, she was flying through the air and hitting the mirror on the wall. It crashed into a thousand pieces, some shards imbedded into her skin.

When the fuck did that get there?

Her uncle stalked over to her and lifted her up by the scruff of her neck. "I am trying to be as nice as I can, Nayli, but you are wearing my pantience _thin_! It looks as if you are going to cause a lot more trouble than you are worth."

Nay clawed at the back of his hand as he dragged her along the wooden floor to the living room.

"Are you gonna kill me, coward?" she spat at him, but he didn't answer right away.

"No. I have another plan for you and your little sister," he replied.

Nay suddenly found herself in the living room, face down on the floor.

"Uncle Tarrlok!" a light voice piped up, followed by a giggle.

Nay lifted her weary head and came face-to-face with...

"Hello Yuri," Tarrlok replied with a grin, shielding Nay away from her little sister's eyes. It wasn't like she had noticed the waterbender, seeing as the little girl practically beamed at the older man.

Nay couldn't ignore the fact that Yuri had become so beautiful. Her long, auburn curls were pinned into a low bun; a beautiful butterfly-shaped broach was nestled in her hair, keeping her bangs from hanging in her face. The parka she was wearing was dyed a purple-ish color, pattered by blue triangles on the chest. The ends of the sleeves and hem were outlined in fur.

She looked... _happy_.

* * *

**A/N: Le gasp! So Tarrlok is Nay's uncle, and has kept Yuri for the past couple of weeks (but she doesn't know that yet)! Seriously, this chapter was so much fun to write. With the brotherly bonding, to Yuri finding a new father figure. Seriously. This is the first to the two-parter I have planned. Maybe three parter? Oh well. I just have so many plot bunniessss! **

**Bolin absolutely breaks my heart. I seriously swoon every time i write him. I think I'm a Naylin shipper. But Mayli is just so damn angst-y! Shit. Wait, I have a solution! What about Naylinko? (Nay/Bolin/Mako) **

**... I'm fighting over my own ships. **

**Anyways, if you say, "Tarlock is soooo OOC! He wud nevr do smthing like tht!" Well, let me explain something to you: I feel as if the Tarrlok from the finale had always been him deep down, and it just took something liiike, a broken little girl to come along and make him realize what he's missing. Of course, he would always turn into the same old him when someone like Nay comes along and fucks all of his plans up. **

**Yes, I just changed the plot line. Yay for original, non-cliché storylines? No? Okay.**

**So um, how about you guys make me feel better and review? Get me out of my mother-induced depression? Please?**

**Until next time,**

**Bailee~**


	9. Once a Fighter, Always a Fighter, Part 2

Nay's half-lidded eyes met Yuri's wild stare for half a second. Hazel and cerulean locked gazes. Such different people - different personalities, yet they were bound so close; a bond that not even prison could break. Or a promise for a sister's hatred.

Yuri shrilled and thrashed in Tarrlok's grasp. She wanted him to let go. She wanted hit Nay. She wanted to kill her; make her suffer just like she had.

"Let me go! I hate her!" she yelled, trying not to focus on the pain in Nay's eyes. "Why did you bring her here?!"

"She is your sister, Yuri! The only family you have left besides me."

"She left me, Uncle Tarrlok! Amon even knew she wasn't gonna come for me! I hate her for it! She was the reason I lost my bending!"

Nay grit her teeth and watched the scene unfold. Tarrlok was having a difficult time holding Yuri in place. The girl was adamant on her opinion that Nay was the one to blame for all of it. It only made the waterbender feel more guilty.

"Yuri! I'm sorry, okay?" Nay wheezed out, barely able to speak from the pain jolting from her legs. She continued. "I don't know what Amon has drilled into your head, but I have been going crazy since you were kidnapped. I tried to find you, I really did. But the Equalists were always one step ahead. It killed me, sis. Every day."

Yuri crumbled in the blink of an eye. It was all too much for the twelve-year-old. All of the suffering she felt for weeks, the hatred toward her sister - she forgot about all of that when she, despite herself, looked at Nay and saw the guilt in her eyes, bright and alive.

It wasn't until that point that she realized how much she missed her older sister. How much she needed her. She practically threw herself at the waterbender, once Tarrlok realized she wouldn't cause her sister bodily harm. Sobs racked through her chest and tears spotted themselves on Nay's tunic.

"I'm sorry, Nay. I'm sorry," Yuri sobbed loudly. She could barely catch her breath from crying so hard. But her words were like a broken record, repeating that sentence over and over again.

"It's okay, Yuri. There's nothing to be sorry for. Everything is okay now," Nay cooed somberly, holding her little sister like a newborn baby, albeit her legs were protesting profusely. "I promise, we'll fix your bending."

"No! I don't want it back," Yuri replied, shaking her head. "Uncle Tarrlok made me see that I don't need my bending to be cool."

Nay looked up at the older man and smiled sincerely, mouthing a 'thank you'. He nodded his head.

"Being different is the best way to live. Right, Naylika?"

The girl froze at hearing her full name - for the first time since her parents died. It's why she always went by Nayli. Not even Mako or Bolin knew about her real name... "How - _how_ did you know about that?"

"Your father and I were always fairly close; he told me everything, so of course I would know the name of my niece. Even though he was adopted into the family when Noatak died, I still felt like he and I could relate much better... even though we looked so different," Tarrlok quietly explained with a smile.

"So... you're not really our blood Uncle?" Yuri asked, to which Tarrlok shook his head. "So it's not bad if I thought you were really cute when you got me out of that prison?"

Both waterbenders laughed warmly. Nay shook her head. "No, because I thought he was really cute when we first met. Of course I didn't know about the whole relation thing," she commented, shooting the man a playful smile. "It's just that Dad never told us he was adopted into the family... No wonder why he always said that his part of the family weren't a good crowd of people. It would have been a lot more embarrassing to say he was adopted." She sighed. "I'm just glad that we didn't have to be put in foster care when Mom and Dad died... Gross."

The Councilman smiled to himself. He was amazed at how mature the two girls had gotten over the years. He hadn't seen them since Naylika was six. Of course, he didn't know but to an extent of their living conditions over the past years, all of what Yuri told him. "You girls are just adorable, but enough of this fluff; we can get to that later. Naylika needs another healing session on her legs."

"Thanks to you," Nay grumbled under her breath, as Tarrlok lifted her up with an arm under her knees and the other wrapped around her back. She gritted her teeth when he ghosted a hand over her broken knee. "Wait - another healing session? When was the first?"

"It doesn't matter, since it just healed the skin around the break because of the severity of your wound," Tarrlok replied, plopping her gently down on the queen-sized bed. "Just relax and let me do the work." He disappeared from the room and when he came back, a large water skin was in his hand.

"What _is_ that stuff?" Nay asked incredulously. She had never seen water that dark in all her life. It wasn't until Tarrlok had it encased around his hands and on the cap of her knee that she registered that it was glowing.

What kind of black magic was that?

Tarrlok rolled his eyes. "You've seriously never heard of spirit oasis water... From the Northern Water Tribe? Please, Naylika, your mother was a master waterbender..."

"But she lived in Republic City," Nay interjected. "And will you stop calling me that stupid name? You're getting _really_ fucking annoying! I don't even wanna be here, and it's your fault this mess has blown up as much as it has! Go to hell!"

The Councilman pressed his hands down onto her knee caps and the water fell from his hands and onto the furs below. Nay let out a squeak of both surprise and pain. "It's a name that your mother came up with, and it's your real name, so until that changes, I'm calling you _Naylika_! Now stop being a little brat and appreciate the fact that I haven't decided to _kill_ you yet!"

Nayli furrowed her eyebrows and blinked back threatening tears. Tarrlok's voice was too threatening, as if he was on the verge of hurting her. He hadn't ever talked to her like that - well, nobody did. They knew that she would punch them square in the face, no questions asked.

"But..."

"You need to learn a little respect for your elders. At this rate, it surely looks like I'll have to be the one teaching you, since you are blatantly oblivious to any other authority." He flicked his wrists and the water curled around his hands like two gloves, which he then placed over her right knee. Nay sighed shakily, aching to sound content and not on the verge of tears like she actually was.

Nay just hoped he didn't notice when her lower lip trembled and a lone tear dotted at the corner of her eye. Of course, if he had noticed, Tarrlok never acknowledged it at all, to which the girl was thankful for.

"I'm sorry for scaring you," Tarrlok finally said, after an awkward ten minutes filled with nothing but Nay's sniffing as she silently cried. He looked up at her and sighed. "It wasn't my intention, Naylika. I promise..."

The younger waterbender coughed once to disguise a sob that had mistakenly slipped out. His words just sounded so sincere. It made her heart leap in her chest; she was always longing for an adult's attention - love, was more the word, especially right now.

"Naylika, there's no reason to cry. I already told you I was sorry. There's nothing to be so upset over. I'm not going to hurt - why are acting like - are you going to be sick?"

"Bathroom," Nay gasped in-between sobs. "Now."

For the next thirty minutes, the poor waterbender was bent over the toilet, dry heaving her lungs out. She pretty much locked Tarrlok out of the bathroom once she had gotten her bearings. Needless to say, he replied by banging on the door every minute or so, yelling at her to let him in.

"Fuck off!" was her respectful response.

"Nay, please let us in!" It was Yuri who had spoken from the other side of the door, this time.

The waterbender ignored her. She just wanted to be _alone_ with herself, and figure out how all of this would play out. What about Bolin? Did he even notice she was gone? Did any of her friends care? Where would Tarrlok take her? Would he maybe let her and Yuri go, and pretend like this had never happened? What if he decided to kidnap them and take them somewhere far away? What would happen then?

_What if_... ?

She asked that question all throughout the day. Looked for any falter in his schedule that she could use to escape with Yuri. Tarrlok had went to work as Councilman eight hours a day, almost everyday she had been in this house. But Nay realized something: Tarrlok was the first adult to really care about her. Yes, Tenzin and Pema cared about her, but only because she was Korra's friend; they never hardly conversed with her. The Councilman couldn't have cared less what her connections were. He was being nice to her, for no reason. Nayli discovered that when he brought home a bouquet of fire lilies to give to her. Along with a box of her favorite chocolates.

"To cheer you up," he had said with a smile. "I heard these were your favorites."

At that point, her thoughts had taken such a quick u-turn, she almost got whiplash. Nay had fought with herself about wanting to leave and wanting to stay. The act of leaving was starting to get less and less appealing...

Nayli had giggled and brought the flowers up to her nose. Tarrlok must have found the best of the best, because she had never smelled such a potent scent on flowers before, or seen such a beautiful red on fire lilies. They usually lost their overall luster when being transported from the Fire Nation to the flower shops here.

But how did she know that? Well, up until a few weeks ago, she had worked three jobs - a flower shop worker had been one of them. When Nay moved in with Korra, she had quit all of them. Bolin had insisted, but that was mainly because they were taking up all of his "Nayli time."

* * *

The next day (technically night), Nayli awoke to the rustling of covers. Cold feet. A small body pressing against hers.

"Watch the legs, kid!" Nay hissed when her younger sister kicked her in the shin on accident as she was fidgeting around.

"Sorry," Yuri whispered, curling up against the teen's half-asleep form. Her breath was warm against Nay's neck. "It's just - I'm not used to being in a twenty-degree environment without any way to warm myself up."

Nay sighed and rolled over to face the girl. She wrapped her arms around her sister's body and lay her chin atop Yuri's head. "It's okay. Just be quiet. I'm exhausted..." Nay started to shiver moments later. It felt like the house was slowly decreasing in temperature as the seconds ticked by.

"... Should we get Uncle Tarrlok?"

Silence.

"... Let's go."

Nay (who could officially walk with a limp now) and Yuri made their way through the large house and opened the door to the Coucilman's bedroom. They slipped inside and tiptoed over to the large bed he was sleeping in.

"Uncle Tarrlok," Yuri whispered in a singsong voice and poked him in the side. In return, the man rustled under the furs and groaned, opening his eyes. It only made sense that he was a light sleeper during the night, since he was a waterbender and all. "Uncle Tarrlok? The house is freezing. Can we sleep with you tonight?"

"Of course, girls," Tarrlok replied in a husky voice. "Naylika, how is your leg tonight?"

Nay visibly shrugged and slid under the covers beside of Yuri, who lay beside of their uncle. "It's a lot better, I guess."

"That's great. Now get to sleep, you two. We are going to town to shop tomorrow. I'm not letting you run around in those raggedy clothes anymore."

Nay wrinkled up her nose in disgust. "Gross. Shopping."

"Hey, Uncle Tarrlok?" Yuri asked in a cheerful voice.

"What, Yuri?"

"... Can I braid your hair?"

"No," Tarrlok replied sternly. Nay felt the bed shift as someone beside of her moved. "Ow, Yuri! No - I am not letting you braid my hair! You are being very - ow - rough!"

"If you wouldn't keep moving," Yuri reprimanded, suddenly falling onto of Nayli, "I wouldn't have to keep pulling your hair!"

"Ow!" the female waterbender shrieked, pushing Yuri off of her and onto the other edge of the bed.

"Girls! Now is not the time for horseplay! It is time to sleep."

"I rise with the moon, Loki."

"... Naylika, there is no reason to call me Lock-i."

"Well, Uncle Tarrlok is just awkward," Nay argued, shooting a look at her elder, who was visibly glaring at her. She giggled once realizing something. "What the - are you wearing your parka to bed?"

"It is comfortable and warm. Incase you haven't noticed, Naylika, the winters in this area go below zero in temperature. I would advise you to cover your arms and legs with something that can keep you warm throughout the night."

Nay blinked. "So that's why Yuri and I have been freezing our asses off? Because we aren't wearing a coat with furs an inch thick?"

"Exactly."

She pursed her lips and noticed the fact that she could see Yuri's breath. It was getting even colder as the seconds ticked by.

"So, it'll be like this until the sun rises?"

"Every night."

"Why do you like this house again?" Yuri piped up. She crawled onto Nay's lap and soaked in their shared body heat. All the girls had on were thin satiny gowns that were left in the dressers of their rooms.

Tarrlok chuckled loftily. "I've never told this story to anyone, so I hope you girls feel important. It's a secret of mine..."His face visibly fell as he sat up in bed, adjusting his pillows to support his back. "It was mine and your father's house, back when we had moved from home to Republic City. It was really the only house that we could afford on the market at the time. We had parties and had girls over all the time..." A lazy smile played on the Councilman's lips. "Then your father met Raina..."

"Our mother," Yuri whispered in awe. She sighed and cuddled closer to Nayli.

"Yes. Your mother," Tarrlok confirmed. He cleared his throat and continued. "She was absolutely beautiful - the apple of your father's eye. We grew into great friends, and Raina became my world, too. But she loved us both, and she didn't know who to choose; which brother was better, even though Toka was her companion."

Nay instantly straightened up at the last sentence, unlike Yuri who fell onto her back and went to sleep. The young bender was in the same predicament right now, loving two boys, yet not knowing who to choose. But... she had chosen Bolin, right? Nay loved him! She told him that.

"I'm in a situation like that right now," Nay whispered shakily. "And I don't know what to do."

Tarrlok gave her a quick side-glance. "You are, Naylika? Would you like to tell me about it...?"

And she did. There were heartfelt hugs and tears, a lot of tears. But venting her feelings like that felt like a weight had lifted from her shoulders. Even more, she expelled a lamentation that made her sink far under the deep sea and drown in her sorrows.

It was the grief of her parents. Living on the streets. All of the terrible things she had done to get food for Yuri. Nay told Tarrrlok all of that, and never once felt uncomfortable. It was so easy to talk to him. There was no judgement whatsoever, even though some of the things she said weren't appropriate. He told her how he handled the situation with their parents and how to make things easier with her problem. She told him things that nobody else knew about her - about the situation her and her sister had been in.

By sunrise, Nayli had claimed such a bond with Tarrlok that he felt to her like the thing she had craved the most for so many years...

A father.

* * *

**A/N:** **I'm really sorry that this was so short. But school started back for me Wednesday, and I have homework to do and everything to get sorted out for graduation. Also, my family circumstances have been so disastrous the past couple of weeks. My mom is out of control. **

**So... Yeah. This chapter is crap though. Yuri and Nay are having some sisterly bonding, and Tarrlok gave some backstory, and was actually in love with Nay's mother. The latter was in the same position as Nay, and Tarrlok gave her some insight. Nayli might even get some help from Raina (her mother) in a later chapter, through a dream or something. I just have a huge plot bunny about it! **

**Um, all I have to say. I'm in a really bad mood and don't feel like saying anything else. I've had a shitty week. So, I'll sign off before you guys get into a bad mood from my rub off. **

**See ya! **


	10. Once a Fighter, Always a Fighter, Part 3

**A/N: So I'm really sorry for it being a little while since I've updated, but high school has been kicking my ass lately, with being a new year and stuff. Even after these years, I still can't get used to high school. .**

**Anyways, I wanted to say thank you for what reviews I got last chapter and all the alerts and faves and other stuff. BUT, since school is being such a bitch right now, and I barely have enough time to write, I'm asking for ten reviews for this chapter to post another one. I really hate to do this, but I only wanna write if people like it, ya know. **

**So, on that sour note, um... Enjoy this chapter... ? **

* * *

Nayli woke up the next day, warm and alone. Apparently during the night, someone had bundled her up with a blanket of thick furs - Tarrlok probably.

She sat up in bed, shedding off the layers of the three blankets piled on top of her. But once Nay's skin touched the cold air, she shrieked and pulled the furs over her body yet again. Forget that idea!

It was getting easier, being holed up in a house in the middle of nowhere. Away from all of Nayli's friends. Bored all of the time... Unable to see Bolin. Tarrlok rarely ever let the girls out of the house. When he went to work, they were ordered to stay inside. Nay couldn't even go outside to practice her waterbending. So when Tarrlok took Yuri earlier this morning to go shopping, it shocked the older girl. The Councilman also said that he would teach Nay to drive once he and Yuri got back.

Yuri suddenly skipped into the room with a bright smile on her face. She spun around and giggled.

"How do you like my new dress?" Yuri asked in a wondering voice, ruffling the soft fabric of the skirt.

Nayli smiled. "That looks so beautiful on you. Where'd you get it, sissy?"

Yuri looked down at the sky blue dress and noticed how it fanned out at the bottom (which reached her knees) when she swayed. The material felt good against her skin. It wasn't itchy like most of the clothes sissy had made for her. Of course, Uncle Tarrlok had spent a lot of money on it, and he had said that the more money you pay for something, the better quality it is. But he told Yuri never to tell her sister how much he had paid for it. According to him, she wouldn't stop until she paid him back.

Pffft. Grown ups. Always worrying about stuff like money and finances, when there are more important things to do in the world - like laugh and have fun!

"Me and Uncle Tarrlok went shopping today," Yuri replied.

"You mean Uncle Tarrlok and I... That's the proper order."

Yuri screwed up her nose in irritation. "Whatever. Ever since you got into stupid school you think you're so smart."

"Actually, it's home school, and you're in it, too..."

The non-bending girl was silent for a few beats. "... I miss Bolin and Mako."

Nay closed her eyes. "Me too..."

"Naylika," Tarrlok exclaimed from the doorway, "you're awake! But I suggest you throw some clothes on and get ready for the day, young lady. I have a surprise for you."

The older girl's face lit up. When was the last time she got a surprise?

"I know what it is! I know what it is!"

"What did we discuss in the car, Yuri?"

She sighed. "I can't tell Nay what you - what's gonna happen today."

"Good girl." He kissed her atop the head and did the same to Nay. "Be ready in one hour! I'm leaving to pick up some paperwork from City Hall. Be good you two." A minute later, the slamming of a door was heard and both girls immediately ran for the kitchen. Which was full of delicious sweets and - food! It had been years since their stomach had been constantly full. The hunger pains were never there anymore and a permanent worry about where the girls next meal was to come from was from a distant memory, it seemed like.

* * *

"Ikki, Jinora... Where did Nay say she was going?" Korra asked, standing at her full height with a hand on each hip.

"We already told you, Korra. Nay made us promise not to tell!" Ikki yelled, hugging her safety pillow closer to her chest.

Mako rolled his eyes. "I don't care what Nay made you promise. She could be in danger, and you're keeping valuable information from us."

"But-"

"If anything happens to her, you could be to blame," Mako interjected.

The Avatar raised an eyebrow. "Nice detective work. You would be a good policeman."

"Thanks," he replied in a grumble.

_Okayyyy_, Korra thought. _I just gave you a compliment and you had to be a douche about it. No wonder why Nay chose Bolin._

"You're so nice," Mako grumbled sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Wh - oh shit. I said that out loud didn't I?"

"Yeah. It's bad enough that Bolin rubs her love for him in my face, I don't need you to."

"So, you love her," Korra teased, the corner of her lip rising in a smirk.

"No!"

"That is so romantic!" Ikki squealed. "Bolin loves Nay, who loves him, and Nay also secretly loves you, while you secretly love Nay, and Korra secretly loves you too, and Asami also loves you, and Bolin still secretly loves Korra... So the only people who are actually in a healthy relationship are Mommy and Daddy..."

Both Korra and Mako blinked in confusion and mentally attempted to absorb the information Ikki had given them.

"... What was that about Korra liking me?"

"... What was that about Bolin still liking me?"

"I thought Nay was over her feelings for me."

"I so don't like Mako."

Ikki and Jinora knew that the two firebenders both argued back and forth for hours sometimes, so they just got up and left the room, and headed to the boy's dorm to comfort Bolin. The teens didn't notice and continued to bicker like their usual selves.

**A little while later...**

Bolin pulled the covers higher over his head once he heard the familiar voices of Ikki and Jinora outside the door.

"Come on, Bolin," Jinora yelled, pounding on the frame of the door. Bolin quickly earthbended a wall behind the door as the girls slid it open. "Oh, come on! You'll have to come out sometime!"

"Not without Nay!" he replied.

"Are you really gonna stay in there forever?"

"As long as it takes!"

It took a long silence before Bolin eventually removed the earthen wall. He heard the girls feet patter on the floor and felt the bed cave as they sat down.

"Ow!" the earthbender squealed, pulling the blanket off his head. "That was my leg you stepped on."

"Oh, sorry..."

"Hey, Bolin," Jinora said questioningly. "What if I told you that we know where to find Nay today?"

"Yeah, Mako told us that every Saturday, Nay always goes to the flower shop across the road from City Hall!"

"Of course Mako did... I'll be getting ready," he replied, jumping out of bed. The girls just giggled at each other and ran out of the room to tell Korra and Mako.

It had been how long since Bolin had seen his girlfriend? Of course it seemed like a thousand years, but it had only been a month or so. He just hoped that she was safe and sound and away from her possible captor. Little did he know that Nayli was starting to come to terms about living with the kidnapper himself.

* * *

After Uncle Tarrlok had gotten back, he and Nay left and went shopping, just like promised. Five expensive dresses, ten tops, eight pairs of pants and three pairs of shoes later, Nay and the Councilman stuffed all of the bags in the backseat of the satomobile.

"So, are you ready to drive, Naylika?" Tarrlok asked once he had gotten into the passenger seat.

"Um, yeah!" the young waterbender sqeaked. She hopped into the driver seat and closed the car door. Tarrlok hesitantly reached her the keys, and she readily started the car.

Nay cracked her knuckles and settled deeper into the leather seat. She could do this! How difficult could driving a satomobile be anyways?

"Okay, Naylika. So, you've never driven a satomobile before?" Tarrlok inquired, buckling his seatbelt.

"Nope. I've ridden with Asami in one, but that's it."

"Okay, so we should probably start with the basics. Like the gear shift," the Councilman explained, resting his hand on said object.

"You mean the PRNDL?"

"... The what?"

Nay blinked. "Ya know, the gear shift. It's called the PRNDL. It says it right on the thingy!"

Tarrlok rolled his eyes and face-palmed against the dashboard. "No, Naylika. Those letters are P-R-N-D-L. They stand for park, reverse, neutral, drive, and low."

"Ya know," Nay hissed, "if I wanted to get all technical, I would ask a professional how to do this! All I wanna do is learn how to drive!"

"I'm just explaining to you what the letters on the gear shift are for," Tarrlok argued.

"I know how to spell, Uncle!"

"It's not something you SPELL! They are letters that correspond with the gear shift!"

After a long, awkward pause, the girl spoke up. "Can we just listen to the damn radio or something!?"

"Oh, okay! We can just sit back, relax, and listen to some music! Would like the station AMMM or FMMM?"

"Stop yelling! Just tell me where to go!"

"I thought you wanted to go to the flower shop you've always went to."

Nay sighed and sank down into the seat, defeated. "I do, but you have to tell me where to go."

She realized that her father never would have gotten mad or yelled at her. Instead of Tarrlok, who had practically kidnapped her and took her from her friends, it should have been her dad teaching her how to drive.

But it wasn't just about driving; it was the fact that her parents were going to miss out on so much in her and Yuri's lives (as if they hadn't already), and that hurt.

Nay got out of the car and stomped her way to the sidewalk, where she continued to walk to the flower shop. She heard the heavy footsteps of Tarrlok behind her, but she was so angered at him that she didn't want to turn around.

"Leave me alone and stop following me! I hate you!" the waterbender called to the man behind her.

"That's not a very nice way to tell your boyfriend how much you missed him," Bolin called from behind Nay, the footsteps suddenly speeding up towards her.

Her breath caught in her throat and her heart skipped a beat once Bolin spun her around and pulled her into a tight hug. It felt so amazing, being in his arms again.

"Spirits, where the hell have you been?" the earthbender asked once they pulled away, a worried expression on his face.

The waterbender averted her eyes to the ground. She wanted to tell him all that had happened, but couldn't force the words out of her mouth. "I... I can't tell you."

"Nay, we've been worried as hell about you! Listen, whoever did something to you, we can put them in jail for life if you-"

"Nobody did anything to me. Now - leave me alone!" She pushed him away and turned around to walk back to Tarrlok.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bolin yelled, throwing his hands up.

"Home!"

"And where exactly is that?"

Nay stopped walking once she heard Mako yelling for her. She turned around to face her boyfriend. "With my uncle and my sister... It's where I need to be." The waterbender gritted her teeth upon seeing the hurt on Bolin's face as he reached out his hand, but she just shook her head 'no'.

Why couldn't she just be a normal girl and want to live with her boyfriend and best friends? ...But then again, what about her life was 'normal'? Normal children have parents. Normal children don't have to sleep on the ground every night, or work three jobs to keep up their sister and themselves, and normal children especially don't choose to make life changing decisions.

Like the one Nay was now.

She decided that the best place for her was with her Uncle and sister. She decided that she loved Bolin more than life itself because, after she left the two brothers standing there dumbstruck, she immediately burst into tears. It was the hardest decision she had ever made in her entire lifetime.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that was such a disaster of a final arc chapter. Yes, the final arc for the Tarrlok/Yuri/Nay scenario. I am just so rusty from writing and I have not had any time to breathe lately, let alone work on ANY of my stories. So this is what you get, and I am so sincerely sorry. **

**Buuuut, Nay has chosen to stay with Uncle Tarrlok and Yuri, which was the climax of the past 3 chapters. But trust me, she'll regret it and go running back to Bolin, which will be followed by great, smutty makeup sex...**

**How about the Suite Life of Zack and Cody reference? While I was doing my homework, that show was on my television, and it was in the part of an episode where Mr. mosby taught London how to drive. And the daddy!Tarrlok/daughter!Nay driving instruction was born. Creys everywhere for Nay reminiscing about her dad. ):**

**Well, I'm gonna be on a small hiatus for a while because of school and stuff. This is where the ten reviews come in. So I'll know that people love this story enough and I'm not wasting my damn time by writing another chapter. **

**See ya,**

**Bailee~**


	11. The End (FINALE)

**A/N: FINALE TIIIMMMMEEEEEE!**

**OMG. Why. Have. I. Been. Gone. For. Over. A. MONTH? I seriously didn't realize I missed all of this writing shit until I started writing the finale chapter. So. Much. I'm not gonna give any excuses because, hell, you've heard them all before, but most of you who are familiar with me in general know of some problems I've been having with my family.**

**Anyways, I've found that listening to epic music makes me wanna write an epic chapter. The Assassin's Creed III full soundtrack I downloaded on my iPod the other day sure did the trick (and maybe the Cool & Sexy playlist on the Songza app... hey, do not look at me like that! It got you a new chapter, didn't it? Yeah, that is what I thought. I was just in the... mood?). Ugh, I want that game so bad, but I have to wait until Christmas!**

**This is my favorite chapter by far and I am glad to be getting back into the swing of writing again. Thanks for all the support and I'll see you guys at the bottom for the final Author's Note! c:**

**Warning: This chapter will contain all of the stuff usually involved in my chapters, but WAY MORE violence and... a character death. :c**

**Sorry for any errors made. I was too excited to get this out to really give a shit. **

* * *

Nayli never understood why Tarrlok chose that day to let her and Yuri accompany him to his work. As they were walking the rest of the way on foot, she noticed how dull the sky was; clouds blocked the bright sun that was peeking its way through the clouds. A melancholy floated through the air and it was as if the city itself was holding its breath. Something was to happen that day.

The next hour or so was pretty normal. Tarrlok let the girls follow his assistant and take a tour around City Hall while he did important studying on the criminal charges against Amon. Within the next thirty minutes, he was finished with most of his duties and the girls had come back with smiles on their young faces.

"Uncle Tarrlok, I didn't know this place was so huge!" Naylika walked up to Tarrlok's desk and leaned forward on the counter, the curiosity of what he was doing eating at her.

Tarrlok finished up the last word of his letter addressing the Fire Lord and looked up at her, tapping the pen against his desk. "Do you mind, sweetie? I'm a little busy here."

As Nay huffed and turned to walk away, a small pop of air from above suddenly alerted her and she craned her head up to see what was going on.

Tenzin suddenly burst through the door, robes swaying, and suggested that the four follow him to safety. Apparently, the Equalists had attacked all of Republic City, not just City Hall. Nay was still shocked that they had attacked in the first place.

The large group had made it outside and was instantly cornered by a group of mechatanks, their steel arms drowning in electricity.

A cry escaped Yuri's lips when one of the arms reached out and grabbed her, roughly slamming her to the cobblestone.

"No!" Nay shrieked, advancing toward the large, metal machine. She provoked the giant with a wave of her arms and readied a water whip. As it lurched forward to grab onto her, letting go of Yuri, Nay flung out her water whip and soaked the monster's claw and arm. It sputtered for a few moments, spoke billowing from the top, before it tumbled backwards and a burly man stumbled away from the controls after the glass had been lifted to release him.

The waterbender turned in Yuri's direction and saw Bolin pull her little sister into his arms. The little girl's face had turned a sickly pale and her curls matted to the back of her head. Nay ground her teeth and bounded over to them. She spewed curse words out of her mouth when she reached them and voluntarily avoided Bolin's hard gaze when they walked over to Naga and laid the twelve-year-old on her soft fur. She took off the fur coat Tarrlok had bought her not too long ago and draped it over Yuri's shaking figure.

"Go and help them fight, I've got it from here," Nay informed Bolin with a jerk of her head aimed over her shoulder.

She was shocked when a calloused finger turned her face and a pair of soft lips met hers. As quickly as they were there, they disappeared, and Nay felt the warmth drain from her own. She fully turned to see Bolin run full-speed toward his brother and hurl a large boulder at the glass of one of the mechatanks.

That was her boy.

After Team Avatar had finished off the last of the Equalists, they had rushed over to where Yuri was laying and watched as Nay had her head lowered, her hand was encircled around the little girl's and the other was pressed firmly against Yuri's forehead.

Nay was praying with all her might to any and every Spirit out there, particularly Agni, since Yuri had been born with the gift of fire - of life. It was a rare chance that her gift would be returned, but it was one Nay was willing to take.

She prayed to Avatar Aang.

"La La?" Yuri's small voice echoed in Nay's ears. The waterbender rose her head and met the cyan eyes of her little sister.

"Thank you, Avatar Aang," Nay breathed as she leaned down and kissed Yuri softly on the forehead. "I thought you were dead."

The little girl shifted at the word, "dead" and visibly winced as she rose her head to examine her surroundings. Her eyes brightened and a large grin spread across her lips when she saw Bolin and Mako standing there, looking down at her with concern in their eyes.

"Welcome back," Mako greeted, reaching out to take her small hand in his.

A whirring sounded above in the clouds and everyone craned their heads up to see what was making the loud noise.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Nay muttered under her breath. "It's a fucking airship?"

"Seems like it." Nayli gasped when she heard Bolin's voice right next to her ear. He had been on the other side of Naga moments ago and now he was standing so close to her that his chest was almost against her back. "They're heading for the island," Bolin realized with a gasp, wrapping a hand around Nay's bicep.

"Naylika," Tarrlok called to her, his voice filled with a cold authority. He lifted Yuri into his arms. "We must go. I'll take you girls back home."

"I don't think so," Nay scoffed.

The Coucilman took a deep breath through his nose. "You are too much involved with this as it is, and it will not go any further. I'm not letting you get hurt; look at what happened to Yuri. You will stay home and take care of her, because she needs you. That order is final and this conversation is now over."

"That's not f -"

"Over!" Nay also heard him mutter, "I won't let your mother down again," and quickly followed after him, her heart shattering.

* * *

By the next day, Nayli had grown worried. Tarrlok hadn't returned. She had sat and sat upon it and decided that she was going to do something. Nay wasn't the type to sit out of a fight.

Rising from Yuri's bed, she quickly pecked the girl on the forehead and rushed over to the telephone.

It had taken her five tries of five different numbers, but Nay eventually contacted Yong.

"Hello?" His voice was raspy, as if he had just woken up from a nap.

"Yong!"

There was a long pause over the line before he spoke again. "Nay... is it really you?"

"It's me," she affirmed, sniffing. She couldn't believe how much older he sounded, just over the phone. What had happened to him? "Hey, I was just calling to ask you for a favor."

"You don't wanna ever just _talk_, do you?" Yong chuckled under his breath.

"Nope." Nay then proceeded to tell him about the big blow up in Republic City and how she needed his help by watching over Yuri.

"We'll meet at the cafe."

* * *

The cold air bit at Nayli's already cold face as she rose above the surface of the chilly water. She could see the illuminating lights shine through the windows of the pro-bending arena and swam toward an open window, courtesy of Korra and Mako. She had mistaken them for the enemy in their Equalist costumes and had... attacked them, then the duo told her of their plans and Nayli approved, telling them to leave a window open for her so she could help.

The waterbender moved her arms in circle after circle above her head and the water began to shift and sway until it rose completely, taking her with it. She reached the open window with relative ease and hurriedly slipped inside. With a quick flick of her wrist, her clothes and hair were dried off. Nay then snuck off to find Korra and Mako. She could guess where they were.

The Fire Ferrets' locker room. The pair of Equalists mentally released a breath when Nayli walked into the small room.

"Thank Spirits you're here," Korra sighed, momentarily taking off her mask.

"Whatever." Nay shot the Avatar a side glance, obviously still not fond of her. She liked Asami a lot much better - the heiress was much more... tolerable. Whether there was an all-out war or not, that fact would never change. "What do you want me to do?"

Mako stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We know that there are people here being held for... whatever reason Amon has inside his sick head. It's your job to let them out and lead them to safety."

"Got it," Nay responded, a smile gracing her lips. She turned to leave, but Mako grabbed her upper arm. She turned to look at him.

"I know that we've had our arguments and there have been times where I've wanted to almost kill you," the firebender smirked, "but if we don't make it out of here today, I just want you to know that you'll always be my best friend and I love you. There should be no hard feelings, right?"

Nayli's eyes glinted with oncoming tears and she quickly blinked them away. It didn't hit her that, right at that moment, it would be the last time they ever saw each other. And she felt a great sense of closure; Nay didn't feel the need to constantly beg for his approval or worry about which brother to choose, because they had both chosen someone. She accepted the fact that he loved her like a best friend - like a sister, and for the first time in months, she was perfectly happy with that.

Because she had Bolin, and Bolin had her.

"No hard feelings." And she meant it.

The two opposites shared a long hug and gazed at each other with the look of a best friend for the first time in years.

This was it. The final battle.

Everyone said their goodbyes, Nayli going one way and Korra and Mako taking the opposite route, towards the arena itself. She headed towards the rooms in the back where the prisoners would be held.

"Nayli?" She heard a woman's voice faintly call to her. Said-girl turned around and peered around corner, validating that nobody was following her.

"Over here, dear!" the voice called again, growing more desperate with each word.

The girl turned around yet again and was met with a shout and a strong punch to the face. She stumbled back, reaching for her waterskin as a booted foot struck a few centimeters from where her head had been moments ago. Nay ran for the Equalist and thrust her right shoulder into the person's gut, throwing off both of their balances. She toppled over the enemy and released a cry of pain when a sharp object pierced her right side. They had stabbed her!

Nay's attacker rolled her onto her back and messily ripped the mask from his face.

"You never should have gotten involved," he hissed, ice and remorse coating his words. Nayli's blood instantly ran cold when she saw who it was behind the mask.

"Yong?" she whispered, lungs heaving from the fight and a lively attempt not to throw up everywhere from the smell of iron wafting through the air. Her own blood. Literally on his hands. "Why are you doing this? You're a fucking bender."

"It doesn't mean I don't like how other people like us abuse their talent and treat less fortunate people like shit. Like," he paused for a moment, letting a predatory smile marr his lips, "Avatar Korra. That stupid bitch ruined everything the day she came to this city. We would have been much better off without her, don't you think?"

"What does this have to do with me?"

"You don't remember those two men you killed in the alleyway a few months ago?" Nay shook her head. "They couldn't even bend."

"They were going to hurt me!" she argued, abruptly cut off the by the pain shooting up and down her side.

"You could have ran, Nay! But instead, you murdered them in cold blood, stole their money and left them there." Yong let out a series of dry laughs from between his lips. "They were my good friends."

Nay closed her eyes when her vision started to swim and a small stream of blood pooled from her wound and onto the floor.

"I thought you didn't care," she said in a small, wavering voice.

"I did care, but I couldn't act like it. I was part of a gang; emotions related to death wasn't one of our specialties..."

As Yong began rambling on, Nayli slowly raised the fingers of her hand and called upon the water from her waterskin, wherever it was. She felt a surge in her gut and felt relief wash over her in buckets. Nay quickly froze the water and brought her knee up to Yong's stomach from where he was bent over her. He let out a cry of pain and backed away ever so slightly, and Nay knew it would be her only chance to strike. She drove the ice dagger into his temple and through his left eye. The crimson liquid was hot against Nay's face and she couldn't help but gag when her best friend fell to the floor and blood spewed from his mouth. All the while, the same female voice from before was begging her to set her free.

Adrenaline pumping hard, Nay found the strength in her to hold back sobs that were bubbling up in her throat, so close to the surface. She located the source of the voice and found Pema in a cell, holding Rohan close to her chest. Nay broke the lock by freezing it over with ice and kicking the shit out of it with her foot, groaning when her side spewed even more of the iron-smelling liquid she loved so dearly.

The poor mother could do nothing but watch as Nay limped crookedly in front of her, clutching her bleeding side. There were no bandages, or healing salves, or anything to stop the bleeding, and Pema knew that without medical treatment, Nayli wouldn't last long.

"We have to find my sister," the young waterbender choked out when they both stopped a moment to rest; more so Nayli than Pema.

"You go, sweetie. Tenzin and the kids should be here any minute. I'll be okay," Pema said in an assuring voice. Nay replied with nothing but a nod of her head. "Yuri needs you."

* * *

There was not one crack or crevice that Nayli missed. She checked every room, whether it be of importance or not.

The walking was the most excruciating of finding Yuri. Her side had not let up from the bleeding and she had to cut up the bottom of her favorite shirt to use as a makeshift bandage around the wound. She was growing more tired with every step she took and almost gave up when a flash of cyan eyes caught her attention. It took all of the girl's willpower to crawl over to the last cell, left wide open. And there was her sister.

Eyes wide open... hair splayed about her like a halo... laying on her back with a single fire lily atop her chest.

_Dead_.

A cry rippled from Nayli's chest as she collapsed fully to the floor and sobbed into the ground. She pulled her little sister into her arms and stroked her sun-kissed cheek.

"Please, Yuri. Come back to me," Nayli sobbed, digging her blood and tear-soaked face into the little girl's shoulder.

_Dead_.

The only person Nayli had left to fight for.

_Dead_.

. . .

The sun dipped in to the ocean, a harmony of oranges and pinks entangled with one another in the sky. Nayli loved sundown, all because the beauty of the universe could be seen in one perfect moment as the assortment of colors painted themselves across the broad horizon.

But at that moment?

She fucking hated it.

* * *

**A/N: There it was, folks. The final chapter to "The Sting of Fate". DO I REALLY HAVE TO FUCKING EXPLAIN MYSELF?! JUST DO AS I DID. CURL INTO A BALL AND CRY AND REFLECT ON THE LOVING RELATIONSHIP SEVERED MY YURI'S DEATH. **

**I shouldn't have watched the end of The Walking Dead game the other night. **

**But the reason that this was so short is because there will be a sequel if you guys want to see one. _That_ and the fact that Nayli was not with the Krew when they were in the sewers, which was Almost all of one episode. And I didn't want it to get to the end of the tv's finale. Just because. **

**And omg, I would love anybody to just draw the last scene with Nay and Yuri. Or a fanfic of this... fanfic. Or anything fan-nish! I know you people that are reading this are talented! (And does anybody know where the second to last paragraph came from? Yeah, it is the first paragraph in the first chapter of this story. I deemed it very appropriate to put there, so, yeah... **

**It never hit me that this was actually the FINAL FUCKING CHAPTER until I got halfway through with writing it... And then I drowned in all of my feels.**

**So, on that note, I just want to say that you so much for all of the support! It has really been such a great experience for me with help of all of you. Thank you for all of the reviews, faves, alerts and all you silent watchers out there! You guys made it fun for me. It's been a bumpy ride, but we made it! Now for the questions:**

1. Would you like for me to do a sequel revolving around Nayli and Bolin?

2. If you said yes, what would you like to see? Any details would be appreciated.

3. How old would you like them to be?

4. What did you think of this story as a whole? What can I improve/add to a potential sequel?

5. Would you enjoy more or less smut?

**I am tired as all fucking fuck. It's the middle of the night and I've spent hours on this chapter, so I'm going the hell to bed.**

**Until we meet again,**

**Bailee~**


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